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COVERING  THE  ACTIVITIES  OF 
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BROWN  PRINTING  CO.  MONTGOME 


STATE  RETURNS  MORE  THAN 

IT  GETS  FROM  PROPERTY  TAXES 

V  '  1  .  I fl  HKen 

-  1  * 

During  Four  Year  Period  Just  Closed  Treasury  Received  $23,273,150  From  Sources 

Directly  Touching  Average  Taxpayer 


DISBURSEMENTS  DURING  THIS  PERIOD  EXCEED  AMOUNT  RECEIVED 


H-  '  FOREWORD 

Believing  that  the  people  of  Alabama  are  interested  in 
their  own  government,  their  own  money  being  paid  to 
maintain  this  government,  the  Montgomery  Advertiser 
has  begun  this  series  of  articles  dealing  with  the  affairs 
of  the  state  of  Alabama.  Every  man,  woman  and  child 
Alabama  has  a  pecuniary  and  personal  interest  in 
».  every  dollar  paid  into  the  treasury  of  Alabama  and  every 
pdollar  paid  out  of  the  treasury  of  Alabama. 

It  will  be  the  purpose  of  this  series  of  articles  to  trace 
-fthe  source  of  every  dollar  paid  into  the  state  treasury 
.and  every  dollar  paid  out  of  the  state  treasury.  The 
articles  will  be  nonargumentative,  non-personal  and  if 
-possible,  educative.  If  mistakes  are  made,  the  Advertiser 
iinvites  correction, 


r 


BY  ATTICUS  MULLIN 


Government  is  an  association  of  individuals  whose  pur¬ 
pose  is  to  protect  themselves,  to  advance  themselves,  and 
to  insure  advance  for  posterity.  This  is  not  the  definition 
of  the  dictionary,  but  the  definition  of  the  writer  of  these 
articles.  Beginning  with  this  definition  Alabama  is  a 
government.  Every  individual  in  Alabama  pays  his  dues 
to  the  association.  He  may  pay  little,  he  may  pay  much. 
He  may  pay  nothing  directly,  but  he  pays  indirectly. 
It  may  be  explained  that  where  the  word  “he”  is  used, 
it  means  “she”  also. 

The  means,  or  hands,  of  government  'are  many.  They 
are  centered  in  the  Capitol.  At  the  head  of  the  govern¬ 
ment  of  Alabama  stands  the  Governor  of  Alabama.  He 
is  the  incarnation  of  the  more  than  2,000,000  individuals 
making  up  the  government.  He  is  their  chosen  repre¬ 
sentative  to  preside  over  the  destinies  of  the  state  (the 
state  being  an  incorporation  of  the  people).  After  the 
governor  there  come  the  many  departments  whose  heads 
are  there  to  uphold  the  state,  to  assist  the  governor  in 
seeing  that  the  state  (the  people)  is  taken  care  of,  to  see 
that  the  state  is  honest;  to  see  that  the  state  renders  an 
account  to  its  stockholders,  the  people;  to  see  that  the  state 
gives  dollar  for  dollar  to  the  stockholders,  and  something 
more  in  dividends. 

The  present  governor  of  Alabama  is  Thomas  E.  Kilby. 
He  was  chosen  by  the  stockholders  of  the  state  to  adminis¬ 
ter  their  affairs  for  a  four  year  period.  That  four  year 
period  is  practically  finished.  It  is  the  purpose  of  these 
articles  to  acouaint  the  people  with  the  stewardship  in¬ 
trusted  to  their  reigning  head. 

A  visual  outline  of  the  receipts  and  disbursements  of  the 
present  state  administration  can  he  found  at  the  top  of  the 
page  wherein  this  article  is  continued.  This  photograph 
tells  more  than  the  writer  can.  but  it  does  not  explain.  The 
explanation  of  this  photograph,  as  well  as  of  accompanying 
photographs  of  other  articles  will  take  place. 

During  the  years  1919  to  1922  inclusive,  there  was  re¬ 
ceived  into  the  state  treasury  of  Alabama  from  the  peo¬ 
ple  of  Alabama  a  total  of  $23,273,150  from  three  sources. 
These  three  sources  are  not  all  of  the  sources  of  revenue 
of  the  state,  not  near  all.  but  they  represent  the  taxes 
paid  by  property  owners,  both  real  and  personal,  and 
in  license  taxes  from  the  merchants.  This  sum  represents 
the  taxes  paid  in  by  you  and  me. 
the  taxes  paid  in  by  the  farmers,  th^ 
and  JhP  merchants  and  others' 

Zbctly  into  the  state-  treasury, 
of  the  taxes  paid  by  the  corporatf 
ties,  the  fire  insurance  companies,  th^ 
factoring  companies  which  employ  sf 
because  these  sums  are  not  paid  by  you-  >r 


The  sum  represents 
owners 


along  in  this  series  of  articles  there  will  be  given  a 
summary  of  taxes  paid  by  all.  This  article  merely  deals 
with  the  property  and  license  taxes  paid  by  the  average 
man,  the  man  who  makes  up  the  bulk  of  the  people  of 
the  state  of  Alabama,  in  a  ratio  of  about  99  to  1. 

Of  the  amounts  received  into  the  state  treasury  during 
the  four  years  mentioned,  the  division  is  as  follows : 

General  fund  (.25),  $8,098,041. 

Old  soldier  tax  (.10),  $3,234,852. 

Schools  (.30),  $9,699,656. 

License  tax,  $2,240,601. 

These  are  the  property  and  license  taxes  that  the  farm¬ 
ers,  merchants  and  corporations  of  Alabama  pay  in  four 
years  to  run  their  state  government,  to  protect  themselves 
from  internal  anarchy  and  to  advance  the  material  interest 
of  themselves  and  their  children. 

After  having  paid  these  taxes,  the  payers  expect  some¬ 
thing.  Where  did  the  money  go?  Did  it  go  to  salaries 
of  state  officials  for  conducting  the  government?  Did 
it  go  to  paying  Confederate  pensions?  Did  it  go  to  the 
schools?  Did  it  go  to  protection  of  the  health  of  the 
people?  Did  it  go  to  the  care  of  the  insane  hospitals? 
The  diagram  alluded  to  tells  the  whole  story.  The  tax¬ 
payers  paid  it  in.  Did  they  get  it  out?  He  started  with 
paying  $23,273,150  into  the  state  treasury  in  four  years... 
What  did  he  get  out  in  four  years? 

During  the  four  years  the  taxpayers,  the  stockholders  r 
in  the  corporation  known  as  the  State  of  Alabama,  drew 
out  of  the  state  treasury  $19,935,321  for  schools.  These  ^ 
schools  were  conducted  for  the  purpose  of  making  his'' 
children  more  nearly  able  to  take  care  of  themselves  in 
the  everlasting  combat,  described  by  some  as  the  “survival 
of  the  fittest.”  The  tax  payer  received  during  these  four 
years  a  grand  total  of  $4,783,672  in  the  care  of  the  old 
Confederate  soldiers. 

This  article  began  with  a  statement  that  there  would 
be  no  comment  on  the  justice  or  injustice  of  expenditures 
and  receipts,  but  can  there  be  doubt  that  the  money  the 
taxpayer  received  back  for  the  old  soldiers  be  other  than 
justice  to  him  and  them? 

Every  state,  every  incorporation  of  individuals,  has  a 
liability.  A  liability  of  the  stockholders  in  the  incorpora¬ 
tion  of  Alabama  is  in  those  who  are  not  able  mentally 
to  take  care  of  themselves.  If  the  stockholders  were  will¬ 
ing  they  could  do  away  with  this  liability.  They  could 
cast  out  the  mentally  incompetent,  the  weak  minded,  but 
the  incorporators  of  the  State  of  Alabama  have  decreed 
that  they  would  not  do  so  but  would  care  for  them.  There 
was  given  back  to  the  tax  payers  of  Alabama  during  the 
four  year  period  referred  to  in  this  article  and  illustrated 


by  the  diagram,  $2,446,804. 

The  corporation  of  more  than  2,000,000  individuals  organ¬ 
ized  into  the  state  of  Alabama  is  concerned  with  the  health 
of  its  incorporators  and  their  offspring.  They  have  adopt¬ 
ed  a  policy  of  asking  their  duly  constituted  officers  tb  pay 
a  dividend  on  health.  That  dividend  during  the  four  years 
included  in  this  article  has  been  paid.  The  taxpayers  re¬ 
ceived  $518  804  in  health  work.  j 

Thus  the  taxpayers  of  Alabama  (that  is,  the  Stock¬ 
holders  of  the  corporation),  have  received  back  $27,684,- 
064  in  four  years  for  these  four  necessary  activities  alone. 
These  stockholders  have  paid  in  during  the  four  years  a 
total  of  $23,273,150.  Thus  there  has  been  an  actual 
profit  to  the  stockholders  of  the  difference  paid  in  and 
the  amount  paid  out,  over  $4,400,000.  t 

Just  for  the  sake  of  a  little  comparison,  there  was\  paid 
out  in  the  four  years  previous  to  the  assumption  of  office 
by  the  present  officers  of  the  Alabama  corporation  of  more- 
than  2,000,000  individuals,  a  total  of  $10,166,053  less  for 


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the  purposes  above  outlined.  Alabama  taxpayers  through 
their  legally  chosen  representatives,  the  state  legislature, 
will  say  in  January  whether  or  not  they  desire  a  curtail¬ 
ment  in  the  dividends  for  schools,  soldiers,  hospitals  and 
public  health. 

Another  thing,  during  the  four  year  period,  the  ex¬ 
penditures  from  the  state  treasury  for  education,  public 
health,  old  soldiers  and  insane  hospitals  aggregate  more 
than  the  entire  revenue  derived  by  the  treasury  from  all 
property  taxes  and  general  business  licenses  for  the  four 
years  by  $4,000,000. 

The  increase  in  taxes  on  property  and  business  licenses 
of  the  state  of  Alabama  for  the  four  years,  1919-1922 


inclusive,  over  the  previous  four  years  was  $4,917,781, 
or  an  average  annual  increase  of  $1,229,445.  The  average 
annual  increase  of  licenses  was  $331,929. 

While  there  was  a  constant  increase  in  property  and 
license  taxes  in  the  four  years,  1919-1922,  inquiry  reveals 
that  this  increase  did  not  begin  to  match  the  increase  in 
dividends  which  the  tax  payers  received  during  the  same 
four  years  in  expenditures  for  the  four  purposes  already 
detailed. 

How  the  corporation,  the  more  than  2,000,000  people 
of  Alabama,  received  a  greater  dividend  out  of  a  revenue 
which  did  not  increase  as  fast  as  the  dividend,  will  be 
shown  in  other  articles  in  this  series. 


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The  above  diagram  shows  the  amount  of  money  the 
state  treasury  of  Alabama  received  from  taxes  on  prop¬ 
erty,  both  real  and  personal,  and  from  business  licenses 
for  the  four  year  1919-1922  inclusive,  dating  from  Sep¬ 
tember  30  to  September  30  inclusive  for  the  four  years. 
The  small  inside  circle  shows  the  division  of  the  tax  into 
four  sources  with  a  total  of  $23,273,150  for  the  four  years. 

On  the  outside  of  the  circle  is  shown  segments  represent¬ 
ing  expenditures  in  their  approximate  size.  The  expendi¬ 


tures  are  divided  into  that  spent  on  schools  and  other 
educational  institutions;  on  Confederate  soldiers  pensions; 
on  insane  hospitals,  and  fcr  public  health  work.  The 
diagram  shows  that  there  was  disbursed  for  these  four 
activities  of  the  state  alone  during  the  four  years  $27,- 
684,064,  or  more  than  $4,003,000  more  than  was  received 
from  the  three  sources  of  taxation,  these  being  the  sources 
composed  of  99  per  cent  of  the  population  of  the  state. 


I 


DISBURSEMENTS  FOR  FOUR  NECESSARY  ACTIVITIES  OUTLINED  * 

During  Four  Year  Period  September  30,  1919-1922  Inclusive  $27,684,064  Spent  on 

Education,  Health,  Confederate  Soldiers  and  Hospitals  ? 

EXCEEDS  OVER  $4,000,000  INCOME  GOTTEN  FROM  PROPERTY  TAXES  AND 

BUSINESS  LICENSES 


By  Atticus  Mullin 

On  yesterday  morning  there  appeared  in  this  series  of 
articles  a  summary  of  the  total  receipts  of  the  state  treas¬ 
ury  of  Alabama  from  two  sources.  These  sources  were 
property  taxes  and  license  taxes.  It  was  shown  that  the 
property  and  license  taxes  for  the  four  year  period  in¬ 
cluding  the  fiscal  years  1919-1922  amounted  to  $23,273,150. 

It  was  stated  then  and  illustrated  by  a  photographic  print 
that  the  disbursements  for  four  necessary  activities  of  the 
state  amounted  to  a  total  of  $27,684,064. 

The  stockholders  in  the  corporation  known  as  the  State 
of  Alabama  are  interested  in  knowing  how  these  disburse¬ 
ments  were  made  and  to  what.  It  was  stated  that  $19,- 
935,321  went  to  public  schools  and  other  educational  in¬ 
stitutions;  that  $4,783,672  went  to  Confederate  pensions; 
ithat  $2,445,804  went  to  the  insane  hospitals;  that  $518,254 
•went  to  the  protection  of  the  health  of  the  public.  These 
figures  were  for  the  four  years  referred  to,  or  during 
■(the  administration  of  Governor  Thomas  E.  Kilby. 

It  was  also  stated  and  illustrated  that  the  taxpayers 
of  Alabama  received  in  return  for  their  investment  $4,900,- 
000  more  than  they  paid  into  the  treasury.  It  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  the  amounts  received  into  the  state  * 
treasury  were  from  taxes  on  real  and  personal  property 
and  from  licenses.  It  was  stated  that  these  amounts  did 
not  represent  the  amounts  paid  into  the  treasury  by  corpor¬ 
ations,  public  utilities,  railroads,  etc., in  addition  to  property 
and  license  taxes  and  it  was  explained  that  there  would 
follow  finally  in  these  articles  a  tabulation  which  would 
show  the  total  receipts  and  disbursements  of  the  state  of 
Alabama  from  all  sources. 

The  first  article  dealing  with  receipts  from  real  and  per¬ 
sonal  property  and  licenses  was  chosen  because  the  people 
of  Alabama,  the  farmers,  city  dwellers  owning  property 
and  general  business  licenses  make  up  over  99  per  cent  of 
the  tax  payers  and  because  the  taxes  from  these  sources 
are  the  taxes  paid  by  you  and  me. 

When  it  was  stated  that  the  disbursements  for  only  four 
activities  reached  the  huge  total  for  the  four  years  of 
$27,684,064  for  1919-1922,  inclusive,  it  naturally  followed 
that  the  man  who  paid  these  taxes  would  want  to  know 
where  it  went.  A  mere  statement  that'it  went  to  education, 
soldiers,  insane  hospitals  and  health  work  would  not  suf¬ 
fice. 

The  first  thought  of  the  majority  of  the  taxpayers  of 
Alabama  is  expenditures  for  the  public  school.  It  is  in  the 
public  schools  of  Alabama  that  the  children  of  the  vast 
majority  of  the  taxpayers  of  Alabama  are  educated.  What 
amount  did  the  public  schools  get?  What  amount  was  spent 
by  that  corporation  representing  more  that  2,000,000  Ala¬ 
bamians  in  the  education  of  the  youth?  Were  the  youth  of 
Alabama,  the  youth  coming  from  the  homes  of  99  per  cent 
of  the  population  which  paid  the  taxes  referred  to  taken 
care  of  in  the  disbursements?  Did  Alabama,  or  the  offi¬ 
cials  of  Alabama,  neglect  your  children  and  mine  for  the 
children  of  those  who  probably  in  worldly  goods  are  more 
fortunate  than  ours?  The  answer  is  in  the  amount  spent 
for  public  schools. 

For  the  four  year  period,  1919-1922  inclusive,  there  was 
spent  by  the  state  of  Alabama,  out  of  its  treasury,  $12,- 
039,436.67  on  the  public  schools.  This  was  spent  out  of  a 
total  of  $19,935,321  spent  for  educational  purposes.  This 
was  not  spent  for  higher  education  but  simply  so  that  your 
boys  and  girls  and  mine  could  receive  the  rudiments  of  an 
education.  It  did  not  go  the  University  or  Auburn.  It 
did  not  go  to  the  agricultural  schools,  to  the  normal  schools, 
to  the  state  educational  department  salaries,  to  the  erection 
and  repair  of  schools  of  whatever  kind  or  character.  It 
went  directly  into  the  education  of  your  boy  and  mine. 

Out  of  the  vast  total  spent  for  education.  Auburn  only 
received  a  total  of  $1,030,620.  The  Alabama  Technical  In¬ 
stitute  for  Women  at  Montevallo  only  received  of  the  more 


than  $19,000,000  spent  for  education  a  total  of  $352,834.63. 
Thus  it  can  be  seen  that  the  public  schools  of  Alabama 
received  the  great  portion  of  the  expenditures  for  the  four 
year  period  mentioned. 

The  people  of  Alabama,  the  stockholders  in  the  incorpor¬ 
ation  of  the  State  of  Alabama,  can  correct  this  situation. 
They  can  decree  by  the  next  state  legislature  that  there 
shall  be  a  reduction  in  the  expenditures  for  education.  They 
can  decree  that  taxable  values  shall  be  reduced  so  that  the 
schools  of  Alabama  will  not  receive  so  much  money  drawn 
out  of  the  people’s  pocket.  They  can  decree  by  legislative 
enactment  that  Alabama  shall  shorten  the  school  term  and 
shall  cease  from  giving  so  much  education  to  the  stock¬ 
holders’  children.  They  can,  if  they  will,  cut  the  school  term 
in  half,  the  maintenance  in  half,  the  salaries  of  the  teach¬ 
ers  in  half,  the  allotment  per  pupil  in  half.  The  power  of 
the  people  as  represented  in  the  state  legislature  is  su¬ 
preme  and  the  legislature  during  the  next  four  year  ad¬ 
ministration  can  cut  down  the  expenditures  in  this  par¬ 
ticular  activity,  education.  Will  they  so  decree?  This 
is  the  question  that  the  chosen  representatives  of  the  peo¬ 
ple  will  answer  themselves  in  the  legislature  which  meets 
in  January,  and  their  will  is  supreme  and  their  action  final. 

It  was  stated  in  the  article  Thursday  the  exact  amount 
of  the  expenditure  during  the  four  years  for  Confederate 
pension,  education  and  health  department.  There  was  also 
expended  for  the  child  welfare  department,  $30,746.85  for 
the  four  years.  } 

There  is  contained  below  a  statement  of  how  the  funds 
were  expended  for  education,  health,  hospitals,  child  wel¬ 
fare  and  Confederate  pensions,  covering  the  period  from 
September  30,  1919  to  September  30,  1922.  A  perusal  of  r 
the  items  of  this  expenditure  by  the  people  of  Alabama 
will  enable  them  to  make  up  their  minds  whether  or  not 
they  desire  their  state  government  to  “prune”  them  dur¬ 
ing  the  next  four  years. 

These  expenditures  are  as  follows: 


Agricultural  Schools  . $  234,000.00 

County  High  Schools .  808,000.00 

Auburn .  1,030,620.00 

Ala.  Technical  Institute  for  Women .  352,834.63 

University  of  Alabama .  783,000.00 

Boys  Industrial  School  .  421,890.88 

School  for  Deaf  and  Blind .  395,597.00 

College  A.  &  M.  Arts  (Negro) .  200,000.00 

State  Training  School  for  Girls .  175,068.00 

Negro  Reform  School  .  138,020.45 

Erecting  and  Repairing  Rural  School  Houses  751.597.10 

Public  School  Library  Fund  .  11,650.00 

Bonus  School  Fund  .  752,197.00 

PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  . $12,089,436.97 

Normal  Schools .  647,999.04 

Educational  Contingent  Fund .  13,945.72 

Vocational  Education .  474,527.17 

Educational  Revolving  Fund .  237,628.59 

Educational  Department  Salaries  .  51,835.00 


Other  Educational  Activities  including 
Clarke  County  High  School,  for  Girls, 
Training  for  Teachers,  Certification  and 
Placement  of  Teachers,  Supervision  of 
Secondary  Education,  Examination  of 
Teachers,  Tuskegee  Institute,  Agricultu¬ 
ral  and  Mechanical  School  for  negroes, 
State  Normal  School  for  negroes,  Re¬ 


moval  of  Illiteracy,  Agricultural  School 
at  Blountsville,  Vocation  school  for  Girls  367,780.00 

Confederate  Soldiers  Home  .  133,974.00 

Pensions  Paid  .  4,649,698.51}: 

Expenses  Insane  Hospital  .  2,296,807.77 

Alabama  Home  for  Mental  Inferiors  .  149,999.67 

State  Health  Department .  518,264.08 

Child  Welfare  Department  .  30,746.8i> 


4 


1922  DISBURSEMENTS  FROM  STATE 

TREASURY  SHOW  LARGE  INCREASE 


BY  ATTICUS  MULLIN 


The  tax  question  is  always  a  live  one  and  in  some  widely 
scattered  sections  of  the  state  there  has  arisen  criticism 
of  the  present  valuation  on  property  and  the  consequent 
tax  flow  into  the  state  treasury.  This  article  will  show 
that  during  the  year  1922,  there  was  received  into  the 
state  treasury  from  property  tax  and  business  licenses 
a  total  of  $6,752,318.  Four  years  ago,  or  in  1919,  there 
was  received  from  these  same  sources  a  total  of  $4,839,646. 
Thus  the  taxpayers  of  Alabama  were  called  on  for  $2,000,- 
000  in  round  figures  more  than  they  were  called  on  for  in 
1919.  In  other  words,  the  taxpayers  of  Alabama,  that  is, 
the  99  per  cent  who  pay  property  and  business  taxes,  had 
their  contributions  to  the  state  treasury  increased  approx¬ 
imately  50  per  cent  in  four  years. 

What  became  of  the  extra  two  million  dollars  paid  into 
the  state  treasury  in  1922  when  compared  with  the  pay¬ 
ment  of  1919,  just  three  years  ago?  This  article  with  the 
accompanying  diagram  will  visualize  the  expenditures  and 
attempt  to  make  clear  just  where  the  increased  tax  money 
went. 

In  the  year  1919  there  was  paid  out  for  public  schools 
and  other  educational  institutions  a  total  of  $3,750,882. 
There  was  paid  out  for  Confederate  soldiers  $960,863. 
There  was  paid  out  for  insane  hospitals  $462,918.  There 
was  paid  out  for  public  health  work  $34,200.  There  was 
paid  out  of  the  treasury  during  1919  a  total  of  $5,208,776 
for  these  four  necessary  activities  of  the  state  government. 
The  amount  paid  out  exceeded  the  amount  taken  in  from 
property  taxes  and  business  licenses  by  $369,130. 

Now  for  1922.  There  was  received  into  the  state  treas¬ 
ury  this  year  from  property  and  business  taxes  a  total  of 
156,752,318.  There  was  expended  during  this  year  for  the 
four  necessary  activities,  schools,  old  soldiers,  public 
health  and  insane  hospitals,  a  total  of  $8,451,513.  In  the 
,year  1922,  disbursements  for  public  schools  and  other  edu¬ 
cational  institutions  in  Alabama  were  practically  as  large 
as  the  receipts  from  property  and  license  taxes  for  the 
year.  In  other  words,  the  99  per  cent  of  the  total  number 
of  taxpayers  in  Alabama  received  a  dividend  in  schools 
alone  of  practically  as  much  as  they  paid  into  the  state 
treasury  of  Alabama. 

It  is  found  that  in  the  fiscal  year  ending  September  30, 
1922,  that  the  expenditures  of  the  state  government  for  the 
single  item  of  education  has  increased  almost  100  per  cent 
in  four  years  because  in  1919  there  was  only  expended  $3,- 
750,822,  while  in  1922  there  was  expended  $6,269,596.  In 
the  tabulated  conclusion  of  this  article  it  will  be  found 
that  the  public  schools  of  the  state  got  the  lion’s  share  of 
the  money  spent  for  education.  In  1922  there  was  spent 
for  public  schools  more  than  a  million  dollars  more  than 
was  spent  for  the  same  purpose  in  1919. 

It  has  been  shown  above  that  the  taxpayers  of  Alabama 
in  1922  received  back  in  education  practically  all  of  the 
money  they  paid  into  the  state  treasury  in  1922  from  prop¬ 
erty  and  license  taxes.  But  it  was  stated  at  the  beginning 
that  there  are  four  necessary  activities  of  state  govern¬ 
ment,  schools,  Confederate  soldiers,  insane  hospitals  and 
public  health.  While  the  schools  got  practically  all  of  the 
taxes  paid  by  the  average  man  and  woman,  the  99  per 
cent  of  taxpayers  of  Alabama,  the  administration  was 
compelled  to  look  out  for  the  other  three  necessary  activ¬ 
ities,  old  soldiers,  public  health  and  insane  hospitals.  Con¬ 
federate  soldiers  were  given  $1,269,363  in  1922.  The  in¬ 
sane  hospitals  cost  $708,752  in  1922.  Public  health  cost 
$173,056  in  1922.  Child  welfare  cost  $30,746  in  1922. 
This  brought  the  expenditures  of  the  state  for  these  ad¬ 
mittedly  necessary  activities  to  practically  two  million  dol¬ 
lars  more  than  the  taxpayers,  that  is,  the  99  per  cent  of 
’js  who  pay  property  and  license  taxes,  paid  into  the  treas¬ 
ury. 

Further  comparisons  show  that  in  1919  old  soldiers  got 
ynly  $960,836  out  of  the  treasury.  In  1922  the  old  sol¬ 


diers  got  $1,269,363  from  the  treasury,  showing  a  steady 
increase  during  the  present  administration  of  care  for  the 
men  who  wore  the  gray.  In  1922  insane  hospitals  cost 
nearly  one  hundred  per  cent  more  than  in  1919,  while  the 
public  health  cost  three  times  as  much  in  1922  as  it  did 
in  1919. 

The  next  legislature  will  say  whether  or  not  property 
assessments  and  licenses  throughout  the  state  will  be 
lowered.  It  will  say  whether  or  not  Alabama  is  going  to 
spend  less  in  the  future  for  schools,  old  soldiers,  health  and 
hospitals. 

There  will  be  found  below  itemized  expenditures  for  four 
necessary  state  activities  for  the  year  1922. 

1922  Disbursements  for  Educational  Purposes. 


Agricultural  schools  . $  75,000.00 

County  high  schools  .  236,000.00 

Auburn  .  318,280.00 

Alabama  Technical  Institute  for  Women  . . .  155,281.63 

University  of  Alabama .  263,000.00 

Boys’  Industrial  school  .  179,094.88 

School  for  Deaf  and  Blind .  111,450.00 

College  A.  &  M.  Arts  (negro)  .  50,000.00 

State  Training  School  for  Girls  . $ . . .  .  111,906.00 

Negro  Reform  School .  37,519.45 

Erecting  and  repairing  rural  school  houses.  .  139,090.00 

Public  school  library  fund  .  3,620.00 

Bonus  school  fund .  197,000.00 

Public  schools  .  3,750,451.97 

Normal  schools  .  236,194.04 

Educational  contingent  fund .  3,088.72 

Vocational  education .  174,163.17 

Educational  revolving  Fund .  99,774.59 

Educational  department  salaries .  14,640.00 

Other  educational  activities,  including  Clarke 

County  High  School,  Vocational  School  4.1' 


for  Girls;  Training  of  Teachers;  Cer¬ 
tification  and  placement  of  teachers ;  Su¬ 
pervision  of  Secondary  Education;  Ex¬ 
amination  of  Teachers;  Tuskegee  Insti¬ 
tute;  A.  &  M.  School  for  Negroes;  State 
Normal  School  for  Negroes;  Removal  of 


illiteracy ;  Agricultural  School  at 
Blountsville  .  114,326.00 

$  6,269,596.00 

Confederate  Soldiers. 

For  Confederate  Soldiers’  Home . $  36,970.00 

Pensions  paid  .  1,232,393.50 

$  1,269,363.50 

Insane  Hospital 

Expenses  Insane  Hospital  . $  662,691.77 

Alabama  Home  for  Mental  Inferiors .  46,060.67 

$  708,752.44 

State  Health  Department  . $  155,648.17 

Federal  Board  Maternity  and  Infant  Hygiene  17,407.91 

Child  Welfare  Department .  30,746.85 


5 


V. 


1 


RECEIPTS  FROM  PROPERTY  TAX  AND  GENERAL  BUSINESS  LICENSES  FOR  YEAR  1922 


? 


The  above  diagram  shows  that  all  of  the  moneys  receiv¬ 
ed  by  the  STATE  from  property  taxation  and  business  li¬ 
censes,  which  includes  the  taxes  paid  by  railroads  and  all 
Public  Service  Corporations  and  Corporations  of  other 
character,  was  not  sufficient  to  meet  the  disbursements  to 
Education,  Insane  Hospitals,  Child  Welfare,  Public  Health 
and  Confederate  Soldiers. 

As  will  be  noted  above,  disbursements  for  educational 


purposes,  etc.,  amounted  to  $8,451,513.00  while  the  re¬ 
ceipts  from  all  taxable  property  in  the  State,  including  re¬ 
ceipts  from  business  license  taxes,  amounted  to  $6,752,318. 
The  above  figures  as  compared  with  the  year  1919,  show  an 
increase  of  receipts  from  sources  shown  of  $912,672.00,  and 
an  increase  of  disbursements  for  purposes  named  above  of 
$3,242,737.00,  which  amount  is  supplied  from  the  General 
State  fund. 


c 


6 


INCOME  AND  OUTGO  IN  KILBY’S 

ADMINISTRATION  EXCEEDS  HENDERSON’S 


During  Fiscal  Years  1915-1918  Henderson’s  Treasury  Received  $17,518,011  From 
All  Property  Tax  Receipts  and  Licenses  on  General  Business 

TREASURY  UNDER  PRESENT  STATE’S  HEAD  GETS  $27,684,064  FROM  THE 

SAME  SOURCES 


Preceding  Administration  Spent  $18,759,861  on  Four  Necessary  State  Activities 

Wliile  Governor  Kilby  Spends  $27,684,064 


By  Atticus  Mullin 

There  has  been  a  very  heavy  increase  in  the  receipts 
and  disbursement  of  the  administration  of  Governor 
Thomas  E.  Kilby  as  compared  with  the  administration 
of  Governor  Chas.  Henderson  who  preceded  him.  Old 
established  activities  of  the  state  have  been  strengthened 
and  more  money  given  to  them.  Schools,  soldiers,  health, 
insane  hospitals,  etc.,  have  fared  better.  There  has  already 
been  shown  in  this  series  of  articles  how  these  activities 
alone  have  gotten  more  money  out  of  the  state  treasury 
than  was  paid  in  by  the  people  of  Alabama  on  property 
taxes  and  state  licenses.  Not  only  have  the  activities 
mentioned  been  more  substantially  supported  by  the  Kilby 
administration  than  any  other  previous  state  administra¬ 
tion,  but  the  state  has  widened  the  number  of  activities. 
There  has  been  constant  progress  in  bringing  the  state 
of  Alabama  as  an  institution  up  to  the  standard  of  other 
.states  in  looking  out  for  the  stockholders,  the  people  who 
''pay  the  money  in. 

During  the  administration  of  Governor  Henderson  for 
the  fiscal  years  1915  to  1918  inclusive,  the  people  paid  into 
•the  treasury  from  property  tax  and  business  licenses  a 
total  of  $17,518,011.  During  the  fiscal  years  1919-1922 
under  the  Kilby  administration  the  people  of  Alabama 
paid  into  the  state  treasury  from  property  taxes  and 
business  licenses  $23,273,150.  In  round  figures  the  Kilby 
administration  received  six  million  dollars  more  in  four 
years  than  the  Henderson  administration  from  the  two 
taxation  sources  outlined. 

An  analysis  of  where  the  money  paid  in  from  these  two 
sources  follows.  Governor  Henderson  spent  during  his 
four  years  $13,281,758  on  education.  Governor  Kilby  spent 
during  his  four  years  $19,935,321  on  education.  The  analy¬ 
sis  shows  that  both  governors  fostered  education,  but  Gov¬ 
ernor  Kilby  got  more  money  in  than  Governor  Henderson 
and  therefore  had  more  to  pay  out.  Governor  Henderson 
spent  during  his  four  years  a  total  of  $3,986,832  for  Confed¬ 
erate  soldiers.  Governor  Kilby  spent  during  his  four  years 
$4,783,672.  The  added  expenditures  of  Governor  Kilby  for 
old  soldiers  was  due  to  a  change  in  the  law  giving  the  pen¬ 
sioners  substantial  additions  and  not  to  a  growth  of  num¬ 
bers  on  the  pension  rolls. 

In  the  matter  of  insane  hospitals,  Governor  Henderson 
spent  a  total  of  $1,389,551  in  the  four  years  he  was  in 
office.  Governor  Kilby  has  spent  $2,446,804  for  the  same 
purpose.  Governor  Henderson  spent  in  four  years  on 

Disbursements  for  Educational  Purposes 

Agricultural  Schools  . 

County  High  Schools  . 

Auburn  . 

Alabama  Technical  Institute  for  Women  . 

University  of  Alabama  . 

Boys  Industrial  School  . 

School  for  Deaf  and  Blind . 

College  A.  &  M.  Arts  (negro)  . 

State  Training  School  for  Girls  . 

*  Negro  Reform  School  . 

Erecting  and  Repairing  Rural  School  Houses . 

Public  School  Library  Fund  . 

Bonus  School  Fund  . 


the  public  health  $101,720.  Governor  Kilby  has  spent 
on  the  public  health  in  four  year  $518,254. 

Thus  while  the  revenues  from  property  taxation  and 
business  licenses  were  constantly  increasing  under  Gov¬ 
ernor  Kilby,  he  in  turn  was  constantly  increasing  ex¬ 
penditures  for  schools,  and  the  other  activities  outlined. 
The  progression  of  expenditures  under  Governor  Kilby 
was  even  greater  than  the  progression  of  receipts.  It 
should  be  explained  that  receipts  means  receipts  from 
the  two  sources,  property  taxes  and  general  business 
licenses  and  not  the  total  receipts  of  the  state  from  all 
sources.  In  another  article  the  receipts  from  all  sources 
will  be  dealt  with  and  the  disbursements  to  all  activities 
will  be  analyzed.  This  series  of  articles  so  far  has  only 
dealt  with  property  taxes  and  business  licenses  as  it  is 
these  taxes  that  the  vast  proportion  of  the  public. pays  and 
is  directly  interested  in. 

To  give  some  examples  of  the  steadily  increasing  sup¬ 
port  given  by  Governor  Kilby  to  necessary  state  activities 
the  following  figures  are  cited:  For  education  purposes 
1919,  $3,750,822;  1920,  $4,515,049;  1921,  $5,399,854;  1922, 
$6,269,596.  These  figures  are  self  explanatory.  They 
simply  mean  that  the  schools  of  Alabama  are  being  rapid¬ 
ly  modernized  and  that  their  number  is  being  increased. 
In  other  words  that  Alabama  is  progressing  in  an  educa¬ 
tional  way  by  leaps  and  bounds. 

With  reference  to  Confederate  soldiers  it  is  sad,  but 
true,  that  the  high  water  mark  of  the  state’s  expenditures 
on  pensions  was  reached  in  1920  when  the  total  was  $1,- 
290,618.  In  1922  with  the  same  law  in  effect  the  pay¬ 
ments  had  dropped  to  $1,269,383.  In  other  words  the  gal¬ 
lant  men  who  wore  the  gray  and  whose  heroic  devotion 
to  duty  astounded  the  world,  are  passing  to  the  beyond  in 
ever  increasing  numbers  and  year  by  year  from  now  on 
the  decrease  in  amounts  paid  out  will  be  more  noticeable. 

A  comparison  of  amounts  paid  out  of  the  state  treasury 
by  Governor  Kilby  for  hospitals,  and  health  show  the 
same  yearly  increase  in  the  periods  1919,  1920,  1921,  1922. 

There  is  attached  herewith  a  table  showing  the  dis¬ 
bursements  for  four  necessary  activities  during  the  ad¬ 
ministration  of  Governor  Kilby  year  by  year.  A  study  of 
this  table  will  indicate  why  the  state  treasury  must  have 
money  coming  in.  If  the  money  quits  coming  in,  the  next 
table  published  will  show  steady  declines  in  money  spent 
for  education,  both  common  school  and  higher,  and  for 
old  soldiers,  hospitals,  the  public  health,  etc.,  unless  new 
sources  of  revenue  are  found. 


1919 

1920 

1921 

1922 

40,500.00 

43,500.00 

75,000.00 

75,000.00 

171,000.00 

171,000.00 

230,000.00 

236,000.00 

174.280.00 

185.280.00 

352,780.00 

318,280.00 

56,673.00 

65,824.00 

75,056.00 

155,281.63 

121,000.00 

121,000.00 

278,000.00 

263,000.00 

53.255.00 

60.850.00 

128.721.00 

179,094.88 

78,479.00 

103.650.00 

102,000.00 

111,450.00 

50.000.00 

50.020.00 

50.000.00 

50.000.00 

22.462.00 

17.175.00 

23.525.00 

111.906.00 

29.679.00 

37  939.00 

32.865.00 

37,519.45 

179.120.00 

149,415.00 

283.972.00 

139.090.10 

2.670.00 

3.080.00 

2.280.00 

3  620.00 

164,000.00 

194.197.00 

197,000.00 

197,000.00 

7 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  . . . 

Normal  School  . . . 

Educational  Contingent  Fund  . 

Vocational  Education  . 

Educational  Revolving  Fund . 

Educational  Department  Salaries  . 

Other  Educational  Activities  including  Clarke  County 
High  School,  Vocational  School  for  Girls,  Training  of 
Teachers,  Certification  and  Placement  of  Teachers,  Su¬ 
pervision  of  Secondary  Education,  Examination  of 
Teachers,  Tuskegee  Institute,  Agricultural  and  Mechani- 
School  for  Negroes,  State  Normal  School  for  Negroes, 
Removal  of  Illiteracy,  Agricultural  School  at  Blounts- 
ville  . 

Total  . 

Confederate  Soldiers 

For  Confederate  Soldiers  Home . 

Pensions  paid  . 


Insane  Hospital 

Expenses  Insane  Hospital  . 

Alabama  Home  for  Mental  Inferiors  . 

Total  . 

State  Health  Department . 

Federal  Board  Maternity  and  Infant  Hygiene 
Child  Welfare  Department  . 


2,402,409.00 

112,000.00 

2,868.00 

40,365.00 

8,550.00 

2,905,394.00 

131,500.00 

2,994.00 

109,399.00 

37,951.00 

14,105.00 

3,031,182.00 

168,305.00 

4,995.00 

150,600.00 

99,903.00 

14,540.00 

3,750,451.97 

236,194.04 

3,088.72 

174,163.17 

99,774.59 

14,640.00 

41,476.00 

110,796.00 

101,182.00 

114,326.00 

3,750,822.00 

4,515,049.00 

5,399,854.00 

6,269,596.00 

27,109.00 

933,727.00 

29,845.00 

1,129,960.00 

40,050.00 

1,290,618.00 

36,970.00 

1,269,383.50 

960,836.00 

1,222,805.00 

1,330,668.00 

1,306,353.50 

462,918.00 

559,536.00 

25,000.00 

611,662.00 

78,939.00 

662,691.77 

46,060.67 

462,918.00 

584,536.00 

690,601.00 

708,752.44 

34,200.00 

143,651.00 

159,375.00 

155,648.17 

17,407.91 

30,746.85 

/ 


< 


* 


8 


ASSESSABLE  VALUES  IN  FOUR  ADMIN¬ 
ISTRATIONS  HAVE  STEADILY  INCREASED 

Average  Four  Year  Assessments  of  Present  Governor  For  Years  1919-1922  Reach 

$896,471,424 

COMER,  O’NEAL,  HENDERSON  AND  KILBY  HAVE  STEADILY  PROGRESSED  IN 

STATE  ACTIVITIES 


By  Atticus  Mullin 

Every  man  and  woman  in  Alabama  is  interested  in 
taxes.  Heretofore  in  this  series  of  articles  the  question 
of  taxation  has  not  been  gone  into  but  since  it  has  been 
stated  what  the  revenues  from  the  state  treasury  are  from 
real  and  personal  property  and  general  business  licenses, 
it  is  thought  well  to  discuss  the  source  of  this  money. 

There  has  been  an  uninterruptedly  steady  increase  in 
the  assessable  values  of  Alabama  since  1903.  Governor 
Jelks  had  a  total  average  assessment  of  $339,838,218.  This 
was  for  the  fiscal  years  1903-1906  inclusive.  Governor 
Comer  had  total  average  assessments  for  his  four  fiscal 
years  1907-1910  of  477,747,854.  Governor  O’Neal  had  for 
his  four  fiscal  years  1911-1914  a  total  average  assessment 
of  $576,135,391.  Governor  Henderson  during  his  four  fis¬ 
cal  year  term  1915-1918  had  total  average  assessments  of 
$669,293,010.  Governor  Kilby  had  average  four  years  as¬ 
sessments  for  his  four  years  1919-1922  of  $896,471,424. 

The  above  figures  show  that  each  Governor  has  pro¬ 
gressively  increased  assessments  in  Alabama.  When  Gov¬ 
ernor  Comer  went  in  he  found  a  big  balance  in  the  treas¬ 
ury  left  by  Governor  Jelks  but  he  did  not  deem  assessments 
high  enough  for  the  purposes  of  internal  improvement  and 
progressive  education  he  had  in  mind.  So  he  raised  the 
taxable  values  of  the  state  an  average  of  $137,909,636  for 
his  four  years.  When  Governor  O’Neal  went  in  he  also  had 
assessments  raised  but  not  in  the  ratio  that  Governor 
Comer  had  lifted  Governor  Jelks’  figures.  Governor  O’Neal 
*vas  satisfied  with  a  raise  of  $98,387,537.  When  Governor 
Henderson  came  in  he  did  not  stand  still  with  the  state’s 
affairs.  He  raised  the  assessments  $93,157,619,  that  is  the 
average  four-year  total  was  that  much  more  than  under 
Governor  O’Neal.  These  figures  are  dealing  with  four  year 
averages.  Governor  Kilby  came  in  and  the  assessments 
were  raised  $227,178,414. 

A  new  administration  headed  by  Governor  W.  W.  Bran¬ 
don  will  go  into  office  in  January.  During  his  campaign 
,  Judge  Brandon  spoke  a  great  deal  of  taxation.  He  knew 
the  people  were  interested  in  this  subject.  He  told  the 
people  that  there  would  be  a  more  equitable  distribution 
of  assessments.  If  this  more  equitable  distribution  of  as¬ 
sessments  shows  a  decrease  in  the  total  of  assessments  it 
will  be  the  first  time  any  governor  has  reduced  assessments. 

Total  assessments,  it  will  be  astonishing  to  many,  de¬ 
clined  for  the  fiscal  year  1922.  To  prevent  general  jubil¬ 
ation  to  the  taxpayer  on  hearing  this,  it  must  be  said  that 
the  decline  was  due  solely  to  the  decline  in  the  assessment 
of  personal  property.  This  is  explained  by  the  fact  that 
there  has  been  a  heavy  declension  in  the  value  of  personal 
property  from  war-time  figures  and  this  declension  is  af¬ 
fected  in  the  assessments.  Real  assessments  have  not  de¬ 
clined. 

Representative  governments  do  not  raise  assessments  for 
the  delight  of  doing  so.  Governors  do  not  seek  more  taxes 
for  pure  delight.  The  governors  of  Alabama  enumerated 
above  had  vision.  They  saw  an  Alabama  growing,  expand¬ 
ing,  educating,  becoming  broader  and  a  better  place  alto¬ 
gether.  A  vision  costs  nothing,  but  to  put  a  vision  into 
execution  the  coin  is  an  essential  which  cannot  be  over¬ 
looked.  When  Governor  Comer  had  his  vision  of  education, 
he  was  business  man  enough  to  know  that  the  great  beau¬ 
tiful  new  school  buildings  he  would  construct  all  over  the 
state  of  Alabama  could  not  be  constructed  without  money. 
He  knew  that  the  treasury  must  get  more  money  than 
Governor  Jelks  had  or  progress  could  not.be  made.  He 
raised  assessments,  he  reached  into  the  pockets  of  the 
people  for  money  to  build  schools.  But  he  put  it  right 
back.  He  built  the  schools  and  they  stand  for  posterity 

monument  to  vision. 


And .  so  it  goes  with  the  other  governors.  Governor 
O’Neal  had  visions.  He  wanted  Alabama  to  go  forward. 
He  could  accomplish  nothing  in  the  way  of  progress  if  he 
stood  still  with  the  things  Governor  Comer  did.  He  want¬ 
ed  the  people  of  Alabama  to  progress,  wanted  the  state 
made  a  better  place  for  its  people,  and  he  reached  intc  your 
pockets  and  took  your  money.  But  he  put  it  right  back 
again.  He  increased  educational  appropriations  and  other 
appropriations  for  necessary  state  activities.  He  pro¬ 
gressed,  he  did  not  drag  Alabama  backward.  Governor 
Henderson  and  Governor  Kilby  wanted  Alabama  to  go  for¬ 
ward.  They  reached  right  out  into  your  pockets  and  mine 
and  took  our  money.  They  put  it  back. 

Would  you  say  that  Alabama  is  not  a  better  state  from 
having  these  four  progressive  governors,  these  men  with 
vision  who  wanted  to  do  something  for  the  people  of  their 
native  state?  And,  furthermore,  there  has  already  been 
shown  that  when  they  reached  out  and  took  your  money, 
they  put  more  back  than  they  took  out.  But  you  say  this  is 
impossible.  How  could  they  put  more  back  than  they 
took  from  you?  Because  when  ’  they  were  taking  your 
money,  they  also  took  money  from  the  corporations,  the 
railroads,  the  telephone  companies,  the  mining  companies, 
and  others,  and  they  took  that  money  and  built  your 
schools,  paid  your  old  soldiers  and  made  up  the  deficit 
generally  which  you  did  not  pay  on  real  and  personal  prop¬ 
erty  and  business  licenses.  Another  article  will  show 
where  this  money  came  from  which  was  not  paid  by  you. 

Below  there  will  be  found  an  interesting  comparison  of 
assessments  in  Alabama  year  by  year  under  the  adminis¬ 


tration  of  Governor  Kilby. 

1919 

Lands  and  improvements . $259,288,844.00 

City  real  estate  and  improvements  .% .  198,204,959.00 

Personal  property .  138,409,223.00 

Public  utilities .  136,371,851.00 


TOTAL  . $732,274,877.00 

1920 

Land  and  improvements  . $318,415,067.00 

City  real  estate  and  improvements .  253,737,689.00 

Personal  property  .  208,674,402.00 

Public  utilities  .  142,249,131.00 


TOTAL . $923,076,289.00 

1921 

Land  and  improvements . $336,342,906.00 

City  real  estate  and  improvements  .  281,086,210.00 

Personal  property  .  209,813,866.00 

Public  utilities .  144,357,697.00 

Ten  per  cent  penalty  on  delinquent  assess¬ 
ments  not  included  above  (estimated)  .  3,000,000.00 


TOTAL . $974,600,679.00 

1922 

Land  and  improvements . $344,134,232.00 

City  real  estate  and  improvements .  282,557,456.00 

Personal  property . 180,413,750.00 

Public  utilities  .  145,828,413.00 

Ten  per  cent  penalty  on  delinquent  assess-  , 


TOTAL . $955,933,851.00 


(NOTE :  The  above  total  for  1922  includes  an  estimated 
amount  of  $3,000,000.00  covering  assessments  in  litigation 
not  yet  reported  to  the  state  auditor.  It  also  includes  an 
estimate  of  the  assessment  in  two  counties  from  which 
abstracts  of  the  assessment  for  1922  have  not  yet  been  re¬ 
ceived.  However,  the  actual  figures,  when  finally  reported, 
can  make  only  a  slight  difference  from  the  above  total.) 


9 


PERSONAL  PROPERTY  IN  STATE  DECLINING  IN  ASSESSABLE  VALUES 


Fiscal  Year  of  1922  Shows  Big  Reduction 


By  Atticus  Mullin. 

Personal  property  tax  furnishes  quite  a  considerable 
revenue  to  the  state  treasury  of  Alabama.  On  yesterday 
in  this  series  of  articles,  it  was  stated  that  the  assess¬ 
ment  on  property  in  Alabama  for  the  fiscal  year  1922 
showed  a  decline  over  1921,  also  over  1920.  It  was  further 
stated  that  this  decline  was  probably  brought  about  by 

the  fact  that  personal  property  was  considerably  less 

valuable,  item  by  item,  in  1922  than  m  1920  and  1921. 
This  article  is  for  the  purpose  of  analyzing  the  schedules 
of  personal  property  assessments  in  the  67  counties  ox 
Alabama  for  comparative  purposes.  _ _ 

As  an  example  of  how  the  property  owners  of  Alabama 
follow  the  market  and  follow  values,  it  can  be  stated  that 
in  1920  household  and  kitchen  furniture  in  Alabama  was 
assessed  at  $8,192,808.  It  must  be  understood  that  assess¬ 
ments  are  made,  or  supposed  to  be  made  on  60  per  cent 
of  value.  In  1922  this  same  household  and  kitchen  furni¬ 
ture  had  deteriorated  until  the  property  owners  of  Ala¬ 
bama  only  considered  its  assessable  value  at  $4, 883,650. 
This  loss  of  almost  50  per  cent  m  the  valuation  of  kitche 
and  household  furniture  might  have  been  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  value  of  new  furniture,  new  stoves,  etc.,  m  the  two 
years  mentioned  had  shown  a  considerable  decrease.  Nine¬ 
teen  hundred  and  twenty  was  the  peak  year.  . 

A  very  interesting  comparison  of  personal  property  is 
the  assessable  value  of  jackasses.  Jackasses  in  Alabama 
were  assessed  at  $115,552  in  1920.  In  1922  jackasses  m 
Alabama  were  only  assessable  at  $70,226.  This  easily  in¬ 
dicated  a  very  grave  falling  off  in  the  assessable  value  ot 
jackasses  or  a  very  material  reduction  in  the  numbers  of 
the  jackass  himself.  The  jackasses  assessed,  it  should  be 
explained,  are  the  jackasses  of  the  long-eared  variety 
which  brav  incessantly  during  the  hours  when  people  de¬ 
sire  to  sleep,  and  not  the  jackasses  commonly  known 
who  only  bray  and  bore  others  when  they  are  awake. 

In  1919  the  watches  and  clocks  of  Alabama  were  as¬ 
sessed  at  $656,016.  It  should  be  remembered  that  this 
does  not  include  watches  and  clocks  in  stock.  In  1922 
these  same  watches  and  clocks  had  deteriorated  in  value, 
according  to  the  assessors,  to  $465,487.  In  other  woids, 
“Big  Ben,”  which  used  to  wake  up  the  taxpayers  of 
Alabama  at  an  early  hour  to  begin  their  day’s  duties, 
had  become  less  valuable.  Whether  or  not  this  was  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  owners  and  taxpayers  of,  and  on, 
old  “Big  Ben”  were  less  prone  to  work,  or  because  their 
work  did  not  require  such  early  hours  of  rising,  is  not 
known  to  the  taxing  authorities. 

Another  interesting  feature  of  the  assessment  of  per¬ 
sonal  property  is  the  decline  in  either  the  number  or 
value  of  goats  within  the  confines  of  the  state.  In  1920 
the  animal  who  is  fond  of  tin  cans  was  assessed  at 
$323,638.  In  1922  the  animal  had  either  reduced  m. value 
or  reduced  in  quantity  until  he  was  only  worth  in  as- 
sessment  $44,656.  This  refers  to  goats  and  not  goats. 
If  the  “goats”  had  been  assessed,  tax  experts  believe  that 
Alabama  might  have  reaped  a  much  greater  harvest  m 

tax  money.  .  .  . 

That  the  farmer  did  not  value  in  1922  his  products  so 
high  and  that  he  followed  the  market  is  indicated  by  his 
very  material  reduction  of  personal  property  assessments, 
insofar  as  it  referred  to  hogs,  sheep,  poultry  and  cattle. 
The  farmer  is  the  man  who  harbors  the  great  bulk  of  hogs, 
sheep,  poultry  and  cattle  in  Alabama.  In  1920  he  assessed 
his  hogs  at  $2,505,103.  In  1922  his  hogs  were  only  as¬ 
sessed  at  $775,164.  Hogs  were  worth  very  much  less  in 
Alabama  in  1922  than  in  1920  and  evidently  there  were 
fewer  hogs.  In  1920  the  farmers  assessed  their  sheep  at 
$200,643.  In  1922  these  same  sheep  were  assessed  at  $110.- 
318.  The  decline  in  the  value  of  the  sheep  as  a  food  prod¬ 
uct  and  as  a  producer  of  wool  is  considered  responsible  for 
the  decline  in  assessments. 

The  “old  hen”  is  becoming  a  very  ordinary  and  a  very 
poor  source  of  income  to  the  farmers  and  to  the  state. 

Either  the  old  hen  is  becoming  modernized,  and  adapt¬ 
ing  the  flapper  ways,  or  the  old  hen  is  becoming  less  numer¬ 
ous.  The  old  hen  in  1920,  so  far  as  Alabama  is  con¬ 


as  Compared  With  Two  Preceding  Years 


cerned,  was  assessed  at  $323,638.  The  old  hen  had  either 
become  less  valuable,  or  so  much  less  numerous  in  1922, 
that  the  farmer  of  Alabama  considered  her  assessable 
value  at  only  $44,656.  Either  the  Alabama  hen  has  be¬ 
come  practically  extinct  or  she  may  have  adopted  the 
slogan  of  “let  father  do  the  work,”  because  she  has  de¬ 
teriorated  to  the  point  where  she  becomes  almost  negligi¬ 
ble  in  the  affairs  of  our  government. 

Another  thing  that  is  striking,  either  Alabamians  are 
becoming  blase  to  the  value  of  paintings  or  the  painters 
of  Alabama  are  being  sent  elsewhere,  because  in  1920 
Alabamians  assessed  their  paintings  at  $73,938,  while  in 
1922  the  assessment  was  only  $24,236.  This  does  not  mean 
the  painting  on  sign  boards  throughout  the  state  or  house 
painting,  but  the  supposedly  valued  interior  portrait  paint¬ 
ings,  scene  paintings,  etc. 

The  musical  taste  of  Alabama  is  either  less  appreciated 
or  the  musical  instruments  of  Alabama  are  fast  wearing 
out,  or  some  of  the  musical  instrument  owners  of  Alabama 
are  “holding  out”  because  the  assessable  value  of  these 
instruments  is  constantly  decreasing.  In  1920,  the  people 
of  Alabama  thought  so  much  of  their  pianos  and  other 
musical  instruments  that  they  valued  them  at  $5,000,026. 
In  1922,  presumably  with  the  same  instruments  and  many 
more  added,  the  assessable  value  had  shrunk  to  $3,257,620. 
Either  the  people  of  Alabama  are  becoming  less  musical, 
their  instruments  are  becoming  less  valuable,  or  they  are 
“spoofing”  the  assessors. 

The  misers  of  Alabama  are  wise  in  their  generation. 
They  know  how  to  take  care  of  themselves.  When  times 
are  good  and  everybody  has  plenty  of  money  they  go  to 
the  tax  assessor  and  make  their  declarations.  When  things 
get  tight  the  miser  is  tight.  In  1920  the  owners  of  money- 
hoarded,  whether  in  custody  of  the  owner,  or  in  safety! 
deposit  vaults  or  elsewhere,  was  given  in  the  assessment, 
at  $1,509,016.  In  1922  there  was  either .  little  hoarding, 
or  the  hoarders  made  themselves  conspicuous  by  their 
absence  from  the  assessor’s  office  in  the.  various  counties' 
of  Alabama,  because  they  only  gave  in  this  value  at 
$200,222. 

But  while  we  are  mentioning  personal  property  de¬ 
creases  it  might  be  well  to  paint  a  rosy  tinge  occasionally. 
In  1920  the  holders  of  stocks  in  banks  and  banking  institu¬ 
tions,  assessed  their  holdings  at  $9,815,094.  In  1922  these 
same  holders  .assessed  themselves  $18,351,284.  Either  this 
stock  in  banks  and  banking  institutions  has  shown  an  al¬ 
most  miraculous  increase  in  value  or  the  people  of  Ala¬ 
bama  have  more  feely  invested  in  these  securities.  And 
another  thing,  in  1920  the  assessment  on  capital  stock  of 
domestic  corporations  was  $10,172,485.  In  1922  the  people 
of  Alabama  had  either  invested  more  money  and  there  had 
been  a  greater  expansion  in  domestic  corporations  or  they 
had  considered  this  stock  more  valuable,  for  they  assessed 
it  at  $18,005,427. 

A  very  significant  decrease  in  personal  property  assess  ¬ 
ments  is  in  the  assessment  given  in  by  the  farmers  of 
Alabama.  The  farmer  was  hit  a  body  blow  by  defla¬ 
tions  and  when  he  went  to  the  assessor’s  office  he  deflated 
his  personal  property  value  as  much  as  he  could,  but 
probably  not  as  much  as  his  property  had  really  been 
deflated.  Take  for  instance  farming  tools:  In  1920  the 
farmer  valued  his  farming  tools  at  $2,558,188.  When 
1922  came  along  they  were  only  worth  for  assessment  so 
far  as  he  was  concerned,  $1,376,949. 

This  article  on  personal  property  assessments  in  Ala¬ 
bama,  while  not  of  paramount  importance  in  this  series 
of  articles,  is  merely  written  to  show  that  here  there  have 
been  decreases  in  the  valuation  of  property  assessments  in 
Alabama  and  an  attempt  in  some  measure  to  account  for 
these  decreases.  Summarizing,  the  total  assessment  on 
personal  property  for  1920  was  $208,674,462.  In  1922 
there  had  been  a  reduction  of  more  than  $28,000,000  in 
this  property  assessment.  The  total  being  $180,413,750. 

NOTE — The  decrease  in  assessments  on  poultry  for 
1922  is  probably  due  to  change  in  the  exemption  for  this 
particular  property.) 


10 


1 


FIFTY  TWO  COUNTIES  GET  BACK 

MORE  THAN  TAXES  AMOUNT  TO 

t 

Analysis  of  Amounts  Paid  Into  State  Treasury  From  Direct  Taxation  Show  That  Only 

15  Are  Self  Supporting 


By  Atticus  Mullin. 

This  series  of  articles  began  on  the  assumption  that  the 
people  of  Alabama  banded  themselves  together  willingly 
to  form  an  incorporation.  This  incorporation  was  formed 
and  is  known  as  the  State  of  Alabama.  The  purpose  of 
this  article  is  to  deal  primarily  with  the  sub-divisions  into 
which  the  stockholders  of  Alabama  have  armed  themselves 
These  sub-divisions  are  known  as  counties.  These  counties 
have  officers  and  they  are  directly  governed  by  these  offi¬ 
cers,  who  fix  the  county  tax  rate.  Under  the  present  law 
the  state  has  the  right,  through  its  county  adjusters,  to 
equalize  tax  values. 

Inasmuch  as  the  state  of  Alabama  has  this  right  in  these 
sub-divisions,  the  counties,  it  is  pertinent  to  inquire  into 
the  amounts  paid  by  these  subdivisions,  these  counties,  to 
the  state  treasury  of  Alabama.  Alabama,  the  parent  cor¬ 
poration,  owes  an  accounting  to  these  sub-divided  incorpor¬ 
ations,  the  counties.  This  article  will  attempt  to  show 
whether  or  not  the  parent  corporation  has  been  fair  or 
just  to  its  subsidiaries,  the  counties. 

It  is  manifest  that  a  state  comprising  the  boundless  pos¬ 
sibilities  such  as  the  state  of  Alabama  comprises,  must 
have  liabilities.  These  liabilities  are  those  sections  of  Ala¬ 
bama  which  in  the  inscrutable  wisdom  of  the  Creator,  suf¬ 
fered  in  their  agricultural,  mineral  and  timber  wealth  at 
the  expense  of  other  more  favored  sections  of  the  common¬ 
wealth. 

What  did  the  counties  of  Alabama  pay  into  the  state 
peasury  in  those  forms  of  taxation  touching  99  per  cent 
of  their  inhabitants?  What  did  these  counties  receive 
back  from  the  parent  corporation,  the  state  of  Alabama, 
in  necessary  expenditures  of  the  parent  corporation  for 
Such  things  as  public  schools,  court  costs,  Confederate  sol¬ 
diers,  etc? 

We  will  take  for  instance  the  county  of  Jefferson.  This 
county  is  rich  in  mineral  wealth.  It  has  boundless  re¬ 
sources  in  coal,  iron  ore,  limestone  and,  surprising  to  many, 
agriculture.  It  is  the  most  thickly  populated  sub-division 
of  the  state.  It  paid  into  the  state  treasury  in  the  year 
1922  from  general  property  tax,  business  licenses,  hunters’ 
licenses,  mortgage  tax,  solicitors’  and  trial  fees  and  poll 
taxes,  a  total  of  $1,692,468.22.  It  must  be  explained  that 
this  county  paid  in  a  great  amount  more  than  this,  but  it 
was  on  franchise,  corporation  and  other  taxes,  which  are 
not  paid  by  you  and  me.  This  great  country  received  in 
return  from  the  state  treasury  $846,779.75.  In  other 
words,  this  county  paid  into  the  state  treasury  $845,688.47 
more  than  the  taxpayers  of  Jefferson  county  received  in 
return.  This  excess  amount  went  to  the  less  favored  and 
less  thickly  populated  counties  of  Alabama  for  their 
schools,  for  their  Confederate  soldiers,  and  for  their  health. 

And  Montgomery  paid  into  the  state  treasury  $135,- 
643.03  more  than  it  received  for  the  same  activities.  Mo¬ 
bile  paid  in  $239,204.34  more  than  it  received. 

An  analysis  of  the  amounts  paid  in  and  the  amounts 
received  by  each  county  in  the  state  of  Alabama  during  the 
year  1922  shows  that  52  counties  of  Alabama  do  not  con¬ 
tribute  directly  to  the  support  of  the  higher  educational  in¬ 
stitutions  of  the  state,  of  the  insane  hospitals,  or  of  the  ex¬ 
ecutive,  judicial  or  legislative  departments  of  the  state.  In 
other  words,  these  counties  are  preferred  stockholders  in 
the  incorporation  known  as  the  state  of  Alabama,  getting 
out  of  the  state  treasury  more  than  they  directly  pay  in. 
These  facts  are  known  to  but  few  of  the  taxpayers  of  the 
state,  but  they  are  given  here  for  the  purpose  of  enlighten¬ 
ing  the  taxpayers  of  Alabama  and  not  for  the  purpose  of 
arguing  that  the  taxpayers  of  every  county  should  pay  in 
more  than  they  take  out. 

*The  incorporation  of  the  state  of  Alabama  is  cooper¬ 
ative  and  there  is  nothing  in  the  bond  of  the  incorpora¬ 
tion  which  implies  that  every  subdivision  should  pay  in 
more  than  it  receives.  In  other  words,  that  portion  of  the 


state,  the  property  of  all  the  stockholders  of  the  state,  is 
expected  to,  and  does  pay  taxes  in  proportion  to  what  it 
receives.  The  less  favored  counties  pay  in  proportion  to 
their  wealth  and  receive  in  proportion  to  their  population. 
We  may  take  for  instance  Coffee  county,  which  has  been 
most  insistent  in  the  reduction  of  taxable  values:  Coffee 
county  in  1922  paid  into  the  state  treasury  from  general 
property  tax,  business  licenses,  hunter’s  licenses,  mort¬ 
gages  taxes,  solicitors’  and  trial  fees,  and  poll  tax,  a  total 
of  $69,062.69.  Coffee  county  received  from  the  parent  cor¬ 
poration,  the  state  of  Alabama,  $93,727.78  for  public 
schools,  court  costs,  Confederate  soldiers,  etc.  In  other 
words,  Coffee  county  received  back  from  the  parent  cor¬ 
poration  a  total  of  $24,665.09  more  than  it  paid  in  as  out¬ 
lined.  It  may  be  explained  that  this  county  has  not  as  yet 
made  its  final  settlement  as  required  for  the  year  1922  and 
the  amount  it  finally  pays  in  may  be  slightly  increased. 

The  counties  in  Alabama  which  are  on  the  credit  side  of 
the  ledger  and  which  paid  more  money  into  the  state  treas¬ 
ury  from  direct  taxation  than  they  received  are  Baldwin, 
Calhoun,  Colbert,  Dallas,  Etowah.  Greene,  Jefferson,  Lime¬ 
stone,  Madison,  Marengo,  Mobile,  Montgomery,  Morgan, 
Tuscaloosa  and  Walker. 

The  counties  of  Alabama  which  received  more  from  the 
state  treasury  than  they  paid  in  for  direct  taxation  during 
the  year  1922  were  Autauga,  Barbour,  Bibb,  Blount,  Bul¬ 
lock,  Butler,  Chambers,  Cherokee,  Chilton,  Choctaw,  Clark, 
Clay,  Cleburne,  Coffee,  Conecuh,  Coosa,  Covington,  Cren¬ 
shaw,  Cullman,  Dale,  DeKalb,  Elmore,  Esambia,  Fayette, 
Franklin,  Geneva,  Henry,  Houston,  Jackson,  Lamar,  Lau¬ 
derdale,  Lawrence,  Lee,  Lowndes,  Macon,  Marion,  Marshall 
Monroe,  Perry,  Pickens,  Pike,  Randolph,  Russell,  Shelby, 
St.  Clair,  Sumter,  Talladega,  Tallapoosa,  Washington, 
Wilcox  and  Winston. 

A  reduction  it  is  manifest,  in  the  assessable  values  of 
property  in  Alabama  will  reduce  the  amount  paid  in  by  all 
counties  of  the  state.  It  is  also  manifestly  a  fact  that  the 
reduction  in  the  valuation  of  the  counties  in  the  state  will 
mean  a  reduction  in  the  amount  received  by  the  sixty-seven 
counties  of  the  state  from  the  state  treasury  for  the  pur¬ 
poses  outlined  in  this  article.  In  other  words,  if  the  as¬ 
sessable  valuations  of  the  state  are  reduced,  Coffee  county, 
a  county  which  gets  back  more  than  it  pays  in,  will  pay  in 
less  and  get  back  less.  This  inevitably  leads  to  the  conclu¬ 
sion  that  there  will  be  less  money,  if  assessable  values  are 
reduced,  for  schools,  old  soldiers,  the  public  health,  insane 
hospitals,  etc.,  unless  new  sources  of  revenue  are  found. 

The  publication  of  this  statement  may  lead  to  the  con¬ 
clusion  in  15  counties  of  the  state  that  there  are  52  coun¬ 
ties  in  the  state  which  get  back  more  than  they  receive, 
and  that  therefore  valuations  should  be  increased  so  that 
each  of  these  52  counties  may  pay  in  at  least  as  much  as 
they  take  out  of  the  state  treasury.  This  is  not  the  con¬ 
clusion  sought  for  in  the  publication  of  these  statistics. 

These  statistics  are  merely  to  inform  the  people  of  the 
various  counties  of  Alabama  the  exact  status  of  their  rela¬ 
tionship  to  the  state  government.  Each  of  these  counties 
has  a  representative  or  representatives  in  the  legislature 
of  Alabama.  These  representatives  meet  in  January  and 
their  will  is  supreme.  They  can  decree  that  there  shall  be 
a  material  reduction  in  the  assessable  valuation  of  the 
state  as  a  whole.  Their  decree  will  mean  that  there  will 
be  a  material  reduction  in  the  amount  received  by  each 
county  from  the  state  treasury  unless  new  sources  of  rev¬ 
enue  are  found. 

There  is  furnished  below  a  tabulated  statement  of  re¬ 
ceipts,  disbursements  and  excess  of  disbursements  over  re¬ 
ceipts  of  each  county  in  the  state.  Where  dashes  are 
shown  in  the  third  coumn  it  means  that  this  county  has 
paid  in  more  than  it  received. 

Statement  showing  receipts  from  the  several  counties  of 
the  State  and  also  the  amounts  returned  to  the  several 
counties  by  the  State  Treasurer. 


11 


For  Fiscal  Year  Ending  September  30,  1922. 


Counties. 


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Autauga  . 

«  •  3  O  6  c  3 ’3  TJ  .X 

KomsMiS 

. $  44,186.29  $  57,719.70  $ 

<2  *•§ 
13,533.41 

Jefferson . 

P  o  o  d 

wonsffl § 

. 1,692,468.22 

Pi  a  as 

846,779.75 

JP  XJS 

H  y  to 

Baldwin  . 

.  80,460.35 

70,068.40 

Lamar  . 

.  37,628.49 

69,562.58 

31,934.09 

Barbour  . 

.  62,983.88 

98,614.22 

35,603.34 

Lauderdale  .... 

.  112,470.20 

121,068.15 

8,597.95 

Bibb  . 

.  43,671.30 

69,108.29 

25,436.99 

Lawrence . 

.  43,440.20 

68,656.85 

25,216.65 

Blount  . 

.  51,255.23 

87,426.29 

36,171.06 

Lee  . 

.  86,200.09 

100,080.64 

13,880.37 

Bullock . 

.  44,685.22 

66,040.08 

21,354.86 

Limestone  . 

.  98,042.06 

81,797.07 

Butler . 

.  61,641.03 

87,425.65 

25,784.62 

Lowndes  . 

.  43,997.76 

60,462.91 

16,465.15 

Calhoun  . 

.  188,783.03 

147,297.56 

Macon  . 

.  47,802.78 

60,170.20 

12,367.42 

Chambers  . 

.  .95,469.95 

113,965.60 

18,495.65 

Madison . 

.  189,313.31 

131,728.39 

Cherokee  . 

.  39,374.66 

62,625.66 

23,251.00 

Marengo  . 

.  92,160.98 

83,303.56 

8,857.00 

Chilton . 

.  154,690.62 

83,591.48 

28,900.86 

Marion . 

.  48,067.25 

84,524.27 

36,457.20 

Choctaw . 

.  47,827.31 

62,265.26 

14,437.95 

Marshall  . 

.  70,600.89 

105,522.23 

34,921.34 

Clarke  . 

.  58,840.90 

87,533.58 

28,692.68 

Mobile  . 

.  504,697.01 

265,492.67 

Clay  . 

.  37,522.57 

82,922.16 

45,399.59 

Monroe . 

.  55,420.23 

80,640.11 

25,219.88 

Cleburne  . 

.  25,450.17 

51,262.88 

25,812.71 

Montgomery  . .  . 

.  363,484.71 

227,841.68 

Coffee . 

.  69,062.69 

93,727.78 

24,665.09 

Morgan  . 

.  146,233.08 

121,700.86 

Colbert . 

.  106,692.02 

80,038.14 

Perry  . 

.  48,972.66 

65,446.19 

16,473.53 

Conecuh  . 

......  45,533.59 

86,686.18 

41,152.59 

Pickens  . 

.  54,792.31 

78,255.92 

23,463.61 

Coosa  . 

.  27,040.09 

51,178.75 

24,138.66 

Pike  . 

.  76,361.06 

93,405.70 

17,044.64 

Covington  . 

.  103,989.02 

112,727.72 

8,738.70 

Randolph . 

.  '49,000.32 

88,013.41 

39,013.09 

Crenshaw . 

.  40,879.02 

77,710.12 

36,831.10 

Russell . 

.  53,270.72 

64,240.49 

10,969.77 

10,607.24 

Cullman . 

.  85,665.79 

103,626.76 

17,960.97 

Shelby  . 

.  78,619.94 

89,227.18 

Dale  . 

.  60,672.81 

78,363.90 

17,964.09 

St.  Clair . 

.  61,224.16 

85,570.66 

70,934.16 

24,346.50 

Dallas . 

.  165,706.93 

129,822.14 

Sumter . 

.  60,700.92 

15,233.24 

DeKalb  . 

.  83,959.63 

113,571.64 

29,612.01 

Talladega  . 

.  126,809.33 

136,665.70 

9,856.37 

Elmore . 

.  55,155.72 

95,769.02 

40,613.30 

Tallapoosa . 

.  63,807.67 

94,584.48 

30,776.81 

Escambia . 

.  65,340.59 

72,103.85 

6,763.26 

Tuscaloosa  . 

.  190,432.57 

143,518.68 

Etowah  . 

.  180,733.15 

138,510.17 

Walker . 

.  164,690.71 

135.116.87 

Fayette  . 

Franklin  . 

.  40,015.43 

67,275.57 

27,260.14 

Washington  .  .  .  . 

.  38,917.07 

45,266.68 

6,349.61 

.  58,194.71 

70,331.10 

12,136.39 

Wilcox  . 

.  50,639.48 

73,897.72 

23,258.24 

Geneva  . 

.  66,570.43 

69,329.66 

2,759.23 

Winston  . 

.  31,093.33 

47,698.34 

16,605.01 

Greene  . 

.  40,822.76 

38,189.62 

As  will  be  noted  from  the  above  statement  fifty-two 

Hale  . 

.  49,718.52 

67,352.07 

17,633.55 

countries  of  the 

State  do  not  contribute  directly  to  the 

Henry . 

.  37,511.46 

68,828.47 

31,317.01 

support  of  the 

Higher  Educational  Institutions  of  the 

Houston  . 

.  95,191.57 

110,494.41 

15,302.84 

State,  or  the  Insane  Hospitals,  or  the  Executive, 

Judicial  or 

Jackson  . 

.  85,408.66 

97,420.81 

12,012.15 

Legislative  Department. 

i  , 

12 


LESS  THAN  TEN  PER  CENT  OF  MONEY 

IN  TREASURY  PAID  OUT  IN  SALARIES 


Investigation  Develops  That  in  the  Event  Every  Official’s  and  Every  Employe’s  Place 
is  Abolished,  Taxpayers  Would  Benefit  9.5  Cents  on  Every  Dollar  Paid  in 

$47,650,048.15  EXPENDED  THIS  ADMINISTRATION  OF  WHICH  ONLY  $4,376,- 

207  WAS  FOR  SALARIES 


Comparison  With  Pay  in  Private  Life  of  Similar  Employees  Shows  That  Alabama  De¬ 
partment  Heads,  Clerks,  Etc.,  in  General  Are  Not  Overpaid  as  Many  People  Think 


By  Atticus  Mullin. 

This  series  of  articles  has  dealt  so  far  with  the  receipts 
by  the  state  treasury  from  real  and  personal  property 
taxes  and  from  general  business  licenses.  It  was  ex¬ 
plained  that  these  taxes  are  the  taxes  paid  by  you  and 
me.  In  other  words  these  are  the  taxes  paid  directly 
into  the  treasury  of  Alabama  by  99  per  cent  of  the  peo¬ 
ple  of  Alabama  who  pay  taxes.  It  was  explained  that 
there  would  follow  in  due  course  of  time  articles  showing 
the  total  amount  of  taxes  paid  into  the  state  treasury. 

This  article  will  deal  with  the  cost  of  running  the  gov¬ 
ernment,  in  other  words,  the  salaries,  etc.,  of  all  depart¬ 
ments,  boards,  and  commissions,  together  with  executive 
and  judicial  department  salaries  and  expenses,  and  the 
expenses  incident  to  legislative  sessions. 

It  has  been  the  custom  in  Alabama  for  many  candidates 
for  state  offices  to  go  up  and  down  the  borders  of  the 
state  preaching  economy.  To  secure  the  plaudits  of  their 
audiences  many  of  these  speakers,  or  candidates,  have  con¬ 
veyed  to  the  minds  of  the  voters  of  the  state  that  the 
money  paid  into  the  state  treasury  from  taxation  has  gone 
principally  into  the  pockets  of  office  holders  and  employes 
of  the  state  government.  These  assertions  on  every  public 
stump  in  this  state  have  always  fired  audiences  to  a  frenzy 
of  excitement  and  applause.  When  these  assertions  were 
re-enforced  with  promises  of  abolition  of  a  great  many 
offices  and  reduction  in  salaries  of  the  state’s  employes, 
they  have  resulted  in  vast  numbers  of  votes  for  the  can¬ 
didates  making  them. 

Whether  or  not  the  statements  of  these  candidates  and 
speakers  are  borne  out  in  facts,  or  whether  or  not  they  can¬ 
not  be  borne  out,  is  the  purpose  of  this  article.  There  is  no 
intention  in  this  article  to  justify  the  number  of  employes 
of  the  state  of  Alabama,  or  the  salaries  received.  It  will 
be  the  purpose  of  this  article  to  show  by  cold  figures  the 
amount  received  by  the  employees  of  the  state  to  adminis¬ 
ter  the  affairs  of  the  state  and  a  comparison  of  the 
amounts  received  by  these  employees  with  the  amounts 
received  by  employees  of  private  institutions  for  the  same 
services. 

In  the  four  years  of  Governor  Kilby’s  administration 
the  disbursements  amounted  to  $47,656,048.15.  It  would 
be  imagined  from  stump  speeches  of  candidates,  and  can¬ 
didates’  supporters,  that  probably  three-fourth s<  of  this 
amount  was  expended  in  salaries  for  the  administration 
of  the  state  government.  Frankly,  the  writer  of  this 
article,  who  was  for  many  years  an  employe  of  the  state, 
thought  that  a  great  proportion  of  the  money  expended 
by  the  state  was  expended  in  saleries  for  the  administra¬ 
tion  of  the  affairs  of  the  state.  But  a  non-partisan,  un¬ 
biased  inquiry  into  the  expenditures  for  the  administra¬ 
tion  of  affairs  of  the  state  has  produced  a  rude  awakening. 

Of  the  $47,656,048.15  expended  during  the  Kilby  admin¬ 
istration.  being  the  fiscal  years  October  1,  1918,  to  Septem¬ 
ber  30,  1922,  there  was  only  expended  a  total  of  $4,376,207 
for  administration.  This  amount  includes  the  salaries  and 
expenses  of  the  executive  and  judicial  departments  of  the 
state  of  Alabama  and  for  the  expenses  of  the  legislative 
sessions,  and  for  all  departments,  boards  and  commissions 
and  for  all  other  administrative  expenses  and  employees 
during  this  four  year  term.  In  other  words,  in  round  fig¬ 
ures,  only  9  5-10  cents  out  of  every  dollar  disbursed  by  the 


state  treasury  went  for  expenses  of  the  administration  of 
the  state  government. 

To  go  further,  it  only  cost  the  people  of  Alabama 
9  5-10  cents  out  of  every  dollar  disbursed  to  pay  the  salary 
and  expenses  of  the  governor  of  Alabama  and  his  execu¬ 
tive  employes,  the  salaries  of  all  the  judges  in  Alabama 
(supreme  court,  appellate  court,  circuits  and  solicitors) 
and  the  salaries  of  all  department  heads,  boards  and  com¬ 
missions  and  their  employes,  together  with  the  cost  of  the 
three  legislative  sessions.  .  .  . 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  present  administration  has 
been  more  liberal  in  salaries  of  employes  of  the  state  of 
Alabama  than  any  previous  administration.  This  was 
brought  about  by  the  fact  that  the  salaries  of  persons 
engaged  in  private  affairs  reached  a  higher  point  during 
the  years  of  this  administration  than  had  ever  been 
reached  before.  The  present  governor  of  Alabama  went 
into  office  assuring  the  people  of  Alabama  of  a  business 
administration.  There  was  named  at  the  outset  of  his  ad¬ 
ministration  a  budget  commission  whose  duty  it  was  to 
inquire  into  every  department  of  the  state  government,  tne 
salary  of  every  employe  and  to  fix  a  budget  of  expenditures 
which  would  be  economical,  but  would  at  the  same  time  in¬ 
sure  competent  employes  to  handle  the  vast  funds  and  to 
direct  the  vast  activities  of  the  state  of  Alabama.  Gov¬ 
ernor  Kilby  was  a  business  man,  schooled  in  the  thought 
that  the  cheapest  employe  was  not  the  most  competent 
employe.  He  found  that  competent  employes  m  other  lines 
of  business  were  drawing  greater  salaries  than  had  prev¬ 
iously  been  fixed  for  employes  of  the  state.  Desinng 
competency,  he  was  not  niggardly  in  fixing  the  salaries 
of  employes  of  the  state. 

Chief  clerks  in  the  various  departments  of  the  state  of 
Alabama,  handling  the  expenditures  of  millions  of  dollars, 
are  not  paid  in  proportion  to  chief  clerks  in  public  utility 
corporations  of  like  magnitude  of  expenditures.  1  he  heads 
of  departments  in  the  state  government  responsible  for, 
and  handling  millions  of  dollars,  do  not  receive  a  stipend 
from  the  state  which  is  comparable  with  managerial  heads 
in  private  corporations  of  less  magnitude. 

The  hue  and  cry  in  every  legislature  has  been  to  de¬ 
crease  the  compensation  of  stenographers  and  office  men 
and  women  in  the  state  government.  A  member  of  the 
state  senate  on  one  occasion  in  an  impassioned  speech  de¬ 
clared  that  “no  stenographer  is  worth  more  than  $60 
per  month  and  half  of  them  are  worth  $40.  This  is  said 
to  be  the  attitude  of  the  average  legislator  who  speaks 
for  home  consumption.  The  stenographers  do  not  receive 
salaries  which  are  comparable  to  salaries  received  by  the 
same  class  of  employes  in  private  life.  This  statement  is 
not  made  on  hearsay,  but  after  a  careful  investigation 
by  the  writer  of  these  articles  of  salaries  paid  to  this 
same  class  of  employes  in  private  life  in  Montgomery. 

The  inestimable  conclusion  must  be  reached  that  were 
the  next  legislature  to  abolish  the  executive  department,  all 
of  the  judges  and  solicitors  of  Alabama  and  all  the  heads 
of  all  the  departments,  boards  and  commissions  of  the 
state,  that  there  could  not  result  to  the  taxpayers  of  the 
state  a  reduction  of  more  than  9  5-10  per  cent  in  the 
amount  that  they  pay  to  the  state  treasury.  No  well  in¬ 
formed  man  or  woman  could  argue  for  a  moment  that  the 
state  of  Alabama  could  exist  without  a  judge,  without  a 


13 


solicitor,  without  a  department  head,  or  without  minor 
employes.  Should  a  reduction  of  as  much  as  25  per  cent 
in  the  salaries  of  the  employes  of  the  state  be  made  by  the 
next  legislature  of  Alabama  it  would  only  result  in  a 
little  more  than  two  per  cent  decrease  in  the  amount  of 
taxes  paid  by  the  people  of  Alabama.  The  will  of  the 
legislature  is  supreme  that  it  can  or  cannot  decide  to  make 
this  reduction. 

On  Sunday  morning  there  will  appear  in  this  series  of 
articles  a  diagram  showing  the  receipts  and  disburse¬ 


ments  of  the  state  of  Alabama  from  all  sources.  This 
diagram,  the  writer  considers,  is  the  most  instructive 
diagram  which  has  been  shown  in  this  series  of  articles 
and  will  give  a  bird’s  eye  view  of  the  operations  of  the 
state  of  Alabama  during  the  four  years  of  the  present 
administration.  It  will  show  the  receipts  from  all  sources 
and  it  will  show  the  disbursements  to  all  activities.  It 
will  be  an  educational  exhibit  which  should  prove  of  help 
to  those  people  of  Alabama  who  are  genuinely  interested 
in  their  state  government. 


LETTER  TO  THE  EDITOR 
COMMENDATION  FROM  DR.  HART 

New  York  City,  Dec.  1,  1922. 

“Mr.  Atticus  Mullin, 

Cfo  Montgomery  Advertiser, 

Montgomery,  Alabama. 

“Dear  Sir — 

“In  preparing  a  special  report  on  the  social  institutions 
of  Alabama,  I  have  read  your  articles  in  the  Montgomery 
Advertiser,  from  November  9  to  22.  I  want  to  congratu¬ 
late  you  upon  the  skill  and  understanding  with  which  these 
articles  have  been  prepared.  I  have  recently  visited  nine 
of  the  prison  camps  of  the  State,  together  with  the  four  in¬ 
stitutions  for  children  and  the  two  hospitals  for  insane, 
and  have  gone  over  the  work  of  the  State  Department  of 
Health,  the  Prison  Inspector’s  Department  and  the  Child 
Welfare  Department.  You  are  entirely  justified  in  the 


opinion  expressed  in  your  articles,  that  the  State  has  got¬ 
ten  value  received  from  the  increased  expenditures  of  the 
past  few  years. 

“The  increase  of  expenses  was  absolutely  unavoidable,  if 
the  State  was  to  meet  even  partially  its  obligation  toward 
its  dependent  and  neglected  classes. 

“I  believe  that  such  constructive  criticism  as  appears  in 
your  articles  is  far  more  advantageous  to  the  State  than 
the  destructive  criticism  which  too  often  appears  in  polit¬ 
ical  campaigns. 

“I  do  not  know  whether  you  are  familiar  with  my  report 
of  1918,  on  “The  Social  Problems  of  Alabama,”  but  if  not, 
I  think  that  you  would  be  interested  in  reading  it.  You 
will  find  it  in  the  Department  of  Archives  and  History. 

“Very  truly  yours, 

“H.  H.  HART, 

“Russell  Sage  Foundation,  130  E.  22d  Street,  New  York 
City.” 


14 


BIRDS  EYE  VIEW  OF  KILBY  ADMINIS¬ 
TRATION  GIVEN  JN  FORM  OF  DIAGRAM 

Vital  Information  to  Stockholders  in  the  Corporation  Known  as  the  State  of  Alabama 

is  Given 

CITIZENS  AND  TAXPAYERS  ARE  GIVEN  LARGE  DIVIDENDS  FOR  THEIR  IN¬ 
VESTMENT,  FIGURES  SHOW 


By  Atticus  Mullin. 

In  this  series  of  articles  there  is  printed  today  for  the 
first  time  figures  showing  the  total  receipts  and  total  dis¬ 
bursements  during  the  administration  of  Governor  Kilby. 
Previous  articles  have  dealt  with  the  receipts  of  the  state 
treasury  from  real  and  personal  property  tax  and  from 
general  business  licenses.  It  was  explained  that  this  was 
the  direct  tax  which  vitally  affects  ninety-nine  per  cent 
of  the  stockholders  in  the  incorporation  of  the  state  of 
Alabama.  It  has  been  shown  that  Governor  Kilby  spent 
for  the  four  necessary  activities,  schools,  old  soldiers,  in¬ 
sane  hospitals  and  the  public  health,  considerably  more 
than  he  took  in  in  these  taxes  paid  by  you  and  me.  It 
was  stated  that  there  would  follow  an  article  showing  total 
receipts  of  the  state  treasury  from  all  sources  which  would 
explain  why  the  present  administration  was  able  to  give 
to  the  stockholders  more  in  just  four  activities  than  the 
stockholders  paid  in.  This  article  explains. 

There  will  be  found  in  the  continuation  of  this  article 
on  an  inside  page  a  diagram  showing  the  receipts  and  dis¬ 
bursements  of  the  administration  for  the  four  years.  Re¬ 
ceipts  from  all  sources  are  segregated  in  the  diagram, 
as  are  the  disbursements  to  all  activities.  The  diagram 
shows  that  it  is  not  from  real  and  personal  taxes  and 
general  business  licenses  that  the  state  of  Alabama  gets 
the  bulk  of  its  revenue.  The  diagram  will  show  that  out 
of  total  receipts  of  over  $49,000,000,  you  and  I  only  paid 
into  the  treasury  a  total  of  a  little  over  $20,000,000,  or 
less  than  half  of  the  total  receipts  of  the  state  from  all 
sources.  Governor  Kilby  disbursed  during  his  adminis¬ 
tration  as  shown  by  the  diagram  $47,656,048.  In  other 
words  Governor  Kilby  gave  back  to  the  stockholders  who 
paid  in  around  $20,000,000  in  property  and  general  busi¬ 
ness  license  tax,  $27,000,000  more  than  they  paid  in.  This 
is  why  Governor  Kilby  was  able  to  enormously  increase 
school  and  other  necessary  appropriations. 

The  diagram  will  show  that  the  public  utility  and  other 
corporations  of  Alabama  were  the  great  contributors  to 
the  treasury.  The  insurance  companies,  fertilizer  compa¬ 
nies  and  banks  paid  into  the  treasury  in  four  years  $2,- 
651,035.  The  coal  companies  and  furnace  companies  paid 


into  the  state  $1,335,235  in  ore  and  coal  tonnage  taxes.  It 
must  be  explained  of  course  that  many  of  these  companies 
also  paid  real  property  taxes,  franchise  taxes,  etc.,  in  addi¬ 
tion  to  this  tonnage  tax.  Corporation  franchise  tax,  en¬ 
trance  fees  for  corporations  and  charter  fees  cost  the  cor¬ 
porations  in  the  four  years  $1,903,800.  Such  corporations 
as  railroads,  power  companies,  electrical,  gas,  telephone 
and  other  public  service  corporations  paid  into  the  treas¬ 
ury  during  the  four  years  a  total  of  $3,630,093.  In  other 
words  the  particular  class  of  corporations  enumerated 
above  paid  into  the  state  treasury  a  total  of  over  $10,000,- 
000.  A  number  of  them  not  only  paid  these  special  taxes 
but  also  property  taxes  and  others.  The  diagram  shows 
more  clearly  than  words  where  the  money  comes  from 
which  enables  the  state  government  to  give  its  stockhold¬ 
ers  more  than  they  pay  in,  in  other  words,  a  dividend  of 
over  100  per  cent  each  year. 

The  diagram  shows  that  the  state  convict  department 
is  a  great  source  of  income  to  the  state.  During  the  four 
years  of  Governor  Kilby’s  administration  the  convict  de¬ 
partment  paid  in  actual  money  into  the  state  treasury  a 
total  of  $7,987,409.  In  other  words  the  convict  department 
pays  into  the  state  treasury  practically  two  millions  of 
dollars  per  year.  This  figure  does  not  include  the  labor 
of  convicts  which  went  into  the  construction  of  Kilby- 
prison  and  other  accomplishments. 

Motor  vehicles  do  their  share  for  the  treasury.  For 
the  four  years  of  Governor  Kilby’s  administration  the 
man  “who  steps  on  the  gas”  paid  into  the  state  a  total 
of  $3,427,237  for  the  privilege  of  so  “stepping.”  This 
does  not  include  the  personal  property  tax  which  he  pays 
on  his  automobile.  In  other  words  during  the  four  years 
the  autoist  in  Alabama  paid  half  as  much  privilege  taxes 
as  all  of  the  holders  of  property  outside  of  the  cities  and 
towns  of  Alabama  paid  in  property  tax. 

The  diagram  shows  disbursements  as  well  as  receipts.. 
The  comparatively  small  amount  paid  out  in  salaries  for 
the  administration  of  the  state  is  shown  in  the  diagram. 
Miscellaneous  receipts  and  small  miscellaneous  expendi¬ 
tures  are  shown.  A  glance  at  the  diagram  will  spot  them,, 
in  a  moment. 


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NOTE:  Of  the  excess  receipts,  viz.:  $2,033,428.56,  as  shown  in  diagram  there  was  in  the  Treasury 
on  Sept.  30th,  1922,  the  sum  of  $878,141.64,  and  approximately  all  of  the  balance  was  used  in  the  pay¬ 
ment  of  warrants  outstanding  Oct.  1st,  1918  in  excess  of  warrants  outstanding  Oct.  1st,  1922. 


The  above  diagram  presents  a  birdseye  view  of  the 
^activities,  of  the  state  of  Alabama  during  the  four  years 
of  Governor  Kilby’s  administration.  The  seeker  for  infor¬ 
mation  will  find  on  this  diagram  the  source  of  the  state’s 
income.  This  is  shown  in  the  outside  segments.  In  the 
middle  segments  are  shown  the  disbursements  of  the 
state  and  to  whom  disbursed.  They  show  who  gets  the 
money.  The  small  circle  at  the  center  of  the  diagram 
merely  shows  the  total  receipts  and  disbursements  for 
the  four  year  period.  One  looking  at  this  circle  might 
draw  the  conclusion  that  the  state  of  Alabama  now  has  a 
two  million  dollar  surplus  in  the  treasury.  This  is  not 


true,  but  the  note  below  the  diagram  explains  the  differ¬ 
ence.  However,  it  may  be  said  that  the  Kilby  adminis¬ 
tration  not  only  paid  off  a  large  floating  debt  but  retired 
$500,000.00  in  bonds.  It  also  built  the  $1,215,000  new 
prison  at  Kilby,  new  prisons  at  Speigner,  Number 
four,  new  buildings  at  the  several  Eleemosynary  and 
Educational  Institutions,  which  are  eternal  assets  to  the 
state.  This  diagram,  as  has  been  the  case  with  all 
others  emphasizes  the  enormous  progress  Alabama  has 
made  for  education.  Look  at  the  size  of  the  segment  in  the 
middle  circle  which  carries  appropriations  for  public 
schools  and  other  educational  institutions. 


16 


GROWTH  OF  EDUCATION  IN 

ALABAMA  VERY  STRIKING 


Figures  For  Four  Administrations  Show 


Constant  Effort  to  Abolish  Ignorance 


By  Atticus  Mullin. 

A  previous  article  in  this  series  carried  a  comparison 
between  the  Kilby  and  Henderson  administrations  in  the 
amount  of  money  disbursed  by  the  state  treasury  for 
four  necessary  state  activities,  education,  health,  old 
soldiers  and  hospitals.  It  was  shown  in  that  article  that 
Governor  Kilby  took  in  a  great  deal  more  money  than 
Governor  Henderson  in  four  years  but  that  he  also  paid 
out  a  great  deal  more  for  these  activities.  A  careful  stu¬ 
dent  of  state  affairs  suggested  to  the  writer  that  the  Ad¬ 
vertiser  should  go  further  and  compare  the  amounts  paid 
out  to  these  four  activities  for  five  administrations,  or  be¬ 
ginning  with  Governor  Jelks  and  ending  with  Governor 
Kilby. 

This  article  will  show  the  astounding  growth  of  edu¬ 
cation  in  Alabama  as  no  other  article  has  done.  During 
his  four  years  in  office  Governor  Jelks  spent  $5,254,586.41 
on  the  development  of  education  in  Alabama.  During  his 
four  years  Governor  Kilby  has  spent  $19,935,321  on  edu¬ 
cation.  Governor  Kilby  spent  the  enormous  total  of 
$12,089,439  on  common  schools  alone  in  four  years.  In 
other  words  he  spent  more  than  twice  as  much  on  com¬ 
mon  schools  alone  as  Governor  Jelks  spent  on  all  educa¬ 
tional  activities. 

It  should  be  explained  here  that  this  article  is  not  in¬ 
tended  as  a  criticism  of  Governor  Jelks,  or  of  any  of  the 
governors  mentioned  in  the  article.  It  is  not  intended  as  a 
boost  for  any  of  them.  The  purpose  of  the  article  is  to  let 
the  stockholders  in  the  Alabama  corporation  have  a 
glimpse  at  the  enormous  strides  Alabama  has  made  in  fos¬ 
tering  four  things  which  are  vital  and  necessary  to  the 
"  stockholders.  Another  article  will  deal  with  the  receipts 
and  disbursements  of  these  administrations  and  will  show 
that  Governor  Kilby  spent  more  because  he  received  more. 

Property  tax,  both  real  and  personal  and  general  busi¬ 
ness  licenses  are  the  taxes  paid  by  you  and  me  and  we 
compose  ninety-nine  per  cent  of  the  number  of  taxpayers 
in  the  state.  On  this  class  of  taxation  Governor  Jelks 
received  $9,379,308.40.  Governor  Comer  received  $12,- 
086,536.  Governor  O’Neal  received  $15,414,293.68.  Gov¬ 
ernor  Henderson  received  $17,518,011.  Governor  Kilby 
received  $23,598,012.  The  names  of  the  Governors  are 
merely  used  for  the  purpose  of  identifying  the  quadren- 
niums  and  not  for  the  purpose  of  identifying  the  governors 
themselves.  Using  the  names  of  the  Governors  instead 
of  the  quadrenniums,  the  writer  believes,  makes  it  simpler 
for  the  reader. 

Now  what  did  these  governors  do  with  the  money  they 
received  from  these  sources  touching  you  and  me?  The 
answer  is  found  in  the  table  of  figures  accompanying  this 
article.  The  answer  is  that  Alabama’s  strides  have  been 
so  rapid  and  so  marked  that  the  average  citizen  will 
hardly  believe.  Governor  Jelks  spent  $7,603,225.37  for 
the  four  necessary  activities,  health,  old  soldiers,  schools 
and  hospitals.  Governor  Comer  took  the  reins  and  he 
rslammed  his  foot  on  the  accelerator  and  the  result  is  as¬ 


tonishing.  He  spent  $13,632,902  on  these  four  necessary 
activities.  Of  this  total  he  jumped  the  schools  expendi¬ 
tures  over  Governor  Jelks  to  $9,309,828,  or  eighty  per 
cent  in  four  years  for  schools  alone. 

Governor  O’Neal  took  the  reins  and  .the  progress  con¬ 
tinued.  He  spent  $17,132,205  on  the  four  necessary  ac¬ 
tivities.  He  spent  of  this  amount  $11,798,932  on  educa¬ 
tion.  In  other  words  he  jumped  Governor  Comer  almost 
thirty  per  cent  in  his  expenditures  for  schools.  Governor 
Henderson  took  the  reins.  He  spent  for  the  four  necessary 
activities  $18,759,861.  Of  this  amount  he  spent  $13,- 
281,758  on  education.  He  jumped  Governor  O’Neal  around 
twelve  per  cent  in  education. 

Governor  Kilby  took  up  the  burden  and  unloosed  the 
brakes  and  poured  in  the  gas  and  Alabama  took  another 
hop  towards  complete  enlightenment.  He  spent  on  the 
four  activities  $27,684,051.  Of  this  amount  he  spent  the 
enormous  total  of  $19,935,321  on  education.  Tn  other 
words  he  exceeded  Governor  Henderson  in  expenditures  for 
education  around  forty  per  cent.  In  other  words  Governor 
Kilby  exceeded  the  expenditures  of  Governor  Jelks  for  edu¬ 
cation  alone  by  nearly  three  hundred  per  cent.  In  other 
words  education  in  Alabama  has  gone  along  three  hundred 
per  cent  since  1902. 

Some  evidences  of  enormous  progress  by  the  state  since 
1902  are  found  in  the  table  of  figures  printed  on  another 
page.  Governor  Jelks  during  his  four  years  spent  $17,600 
on  the  public  health.  Governor  Kilby  spent  $518,254. 
The  gradual  increase  in  expenditures  for  health  under 
the  various  administrations  is  shown  in  the  table. 

For  Confederate  soldiers,  Governor  Jelks  spent  $1,481,- 
664.  Governor  Kilby  spent  $4,783,672.  In  other  words 
Alabama  has  enormously  increased  its  expenditures  for 
the  care  of  the  men  who  wore  the  gray  and  who  endured 
sacrifice  and  privation  and  death  for  the  lost  cause.  The 
table  will  show  that  each  governor  from  Jelks  to  and 
including  Kilby,  gradually  increased  the  amount  alloted 
to  old  soldiers. 

Alabama  has  not  neglected  her  duty  to  the  insane  or  to 
other  eleemosynary  work.  Governor  Jelks  in  four  years 
spent  $849,374  in  this  very  necessary  work.  Governor 
Kilby  in  four  years  spent  $2,446,904  for  the  same  cause. 
A  study  of  the  table  will  show  that  all  of  the  governors  in 
the  period  1902-22  inclusive  were  not  negligent  but  in¬ 
creased  the  appropriation  for  this  activity. 

A  study  of  the  accompanying  table  shows  how  Alabama 
was  able  to  make  progress.  The  table  shows  that  the 
people  of  Alabama  have  enormously  increased  their  con¬ 
tributions  to  the  state  treasury  for  real  and  personal 
property  and  for  business  licenses.  The  table  will  show, 
beginning  with  Governor  Jelks,  that  each  succeeding  gov¬ 
ernor  increased  assessments  because  the  demands  for 
schools,  old  soldiers  and  other  necessary  activities  were 
increasing. 

The  accompanying  table  shows  the  progress  that  Ala¬ 
bama  has  made. 


(Gov.  Jelks) 

Property  Tax  (Real  and 

Personal)  .  $8,094,178.04 

General  Business  License 

Tax  .  1,285,130.36 


(Gov.  Comer) 
$10,984,901.57 
1,101,635.70 


(Gov.  O’Neal) 
$13,985,622.51 
1,429,671.17 


(Gov.  Henderson) 
$16,114,774.00 
1,403,237.00 


(Gov.  Kilby) 
$21,357,411.00 
2,240,601.00 


Total  .  $9,379,308.40  $12,086,536.27 

■(Note:  Property  tax  in¬ 
cludes  railroads,  Elec¬ 
tric  and  Power  Com¬ 
panies  and  all  other 
Public  Service  and 
other  Corporations. 


$15,414,293.68 


$17,518,011.00  $23,598,012.00 


17 


EXPENDITURES  FOR 
County  Public  Schools  . .  3,732,271.17 

High  Schools  and  other 
Educational  and  Elee¬ 
mosynary  Institutions 
Including  Erection  and 
Repairing  Rural  School 


Houses  .  1,522,315.24 

Total  .  $5,254,586.41 

Insane  Hospitals  .  849,374.50 

Confederate  Soldiers  . . .  1,481,664.43 

Public  Health  .  17,600.00 


6.294.632.20 

3,015,196.68 

$9,309,828.88 

1.219.808.20 
3,033,530.12 

69,735.00 


8,422,351.45 

3,376,580.58 

$11,798,932.03 

1,377,050.35 

3,858,406.65 

97,816.05 

$17,132,205.08 


9,326,945.00 


3,954,813.00 


$13,281,758.00 

1,389,551.00 

3,986,832.00 

101,720.00 


$18,759,861.00 


12,089,439.00 


7,845,882.00 


$19,935,321.00 

2,446,804.00 

4,783,672.00 

518,254.00 


Total 


$7,603,225.37 


$13,632,902.20 


$27,684,051.00 


FIVE  ADMINISTRATIONS  COMPARED 

AS  TO  PROGRESS  OF  ALABAMA 

Figures  for  Two  Decades  of  Management  Shows  That  State  Has  Gone  Forward  in  All 

Activities 


CONSTANT  INCREASE  OF  RECEIPTS  HAS  BEEN  MET  WITH  THE  STEADILY 

INCREASING  EXPENDITURES 


By  Atticus  Mullin. 

The  progress  of  the  state  of  Alabama  beginning  with  the 
Jelks  regime  and  including  the  Kilby  regime  is  of  vital  in¬ 
terest  to  the  people  of  Alabama.  A  tabulated  statement  of 
the  receipts  and  disbursements  of  the  state  of  Alabama  for 
the  twenty  years  included  in  the  four  year  administration 
of  Governor  Jelks,  of  Governor  Comer,  of  Governor  O’Neal, 
of  Governor  Henderson,  and  of  Governor  Kilby,  is  a  tri¬ 
umphant  story  of  continued  progress  in  all  activities  of  the 
state  government.  The  writer  of  these  articles,  desiring 
this  information,  asked  Governor  Kilby  to  furnish  him  the 
technical  assistance  necessary  to  secure  this  information. 
In  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  request  involved  a  great 
amount  of  bookkeeping  and  technical  information,  Gov¬ 
ernor  Kilby  immediately  and  tersely  informed  the  writer 
that  the  information  would  be  secured. 

The  information  contained  in  the  table  of  figures  accom¬ 
panying  this  article  is  startling  in  its  nature.  Not  even 
the  most  inspired  dreamer  of  the  progress  of  Alabama 
could  have  conceived  of  the  advancement  of  the  state  and 
of  the  people  through  its  state  government,  which  took 
place  during  the  four  administrations  succeeding  Governor 
Jelks. 

A  preceding  article  detailed  the  progress  of  Alabama  in 
its  assistance  to  four  necessary  activities,  schools,  old  sol¬ 
diers,  hospitals,  and  public  health.  This  article  showed 
that  Alabama  had  progressed  by  leaps  and  bounds  in  its 
-r  care  of  the  activities  mentioned.  It  showed  that  from  Gov¬ 
ernor  Jelks  to  Governor  Kilby  there  had  been  an  almost 
unbelievable  increase  in  the  disbursements  from  the  state 
treasury  for  the  four  things  that  Alabamians  hold  nearest 
to  their  hearts.  It  was  shown  then  that  this  increase  in 
expenditures  of  the  state  kept  pace  with  the  increse  of  the 
receipts  of  the  state.  It  was  shown  then  that  each  gov¬ 
ernor  of  Alabama  from  Jelks  to  Kilby  inclusive,  believed 
in  progress. 

The  increase  in  assessment  for  real  and  personal  prop¬ 
erty  and  business  licenses  during  the  period  1903-1922,  in¬ 
clusive,  was  shown  in  Monday’s  article.  Inasmuch  as  these 
taxes,  which  are  paid  by  you  and  me,  who  compose  99  per 
cent  of  the  stockholders  of  the  incorporation  known  as  the 
state  of  Alabama,  are  a  small  part  of  the  receipts  of  the 
state  treasury  of  Alabama  it  is  competent  to  inquire  into 
the  sources  of  other  receipts  into  the  state  treasury.  Sun¬ 
day  morning  The  Advertiser  carried  a  diagram  showing 
the  receipts  and  disbursements  of  the  State  of  Alabama 
for  the  four  fiscal  years  that  Governor  Kilby  has  had  his 
hand  on  the  helm  of  the  ship  of  state.  This  article  is  in¬ 
tended  to  go  further  and  show  the  total  receipts  and  dis¬ 
bursements  from  all  sources  and  to  all  objects  during  the 
quadrenniums  in  which  the  ship  of  state  was  guided  by  the 
hands  of  Governor  Jelks,  Governor  Comer,  Governor 
O’Neal,  Governor  Henderson,  and  Governor  Kilby. 

During  the  years  when  Governor  Jelks  presided  over  the 
destinies  of  the  state  the  franchise  tax,  charter  fees,  per¬ 
mits,  etc.,  of  corporations  only  netted  the  state  of  Alabama 
$74,238.78.  The  governing  authorities  of  the  State  must 
have  realized  that  these  particular  privileges  of  a  corpor¬ 
ation  or  of  corporations,  were  worth  more  to  the  State  of 
Alabama,  because  in  the  period  of  Governor  Kilby’s  admin¬ 
istration  this  same  source  of  revenue  had  increased  to  $1,- 
938,800.71.  A  study  of  the  table  will  show  that  there  was 
a  constant  increase  in  revenue  from  this  source,  except 
during  the  administration  of  Governor  Henderson. 

*  None  of  the  governors  of  Alabama  during  this  period 
were  responsible  for  the  increase  in  revenue  derived  from 
the  payment  of  poll  tax.  In  spite  of  this  fact  the  increase 


was  enormous.  During  the  four  years  of  Governor  Jelks 
the  state  treasury  only  received  $202,232.94  in  poll  taxes. 
During  the  four  years  of  Governor  Kilby’s  administration 
there  was  paid  into  the  state  treasury  $554,009  by  people 
who  desired  the  privilege  of  suffrage  in  Alabama. 

Dealing  with  one  of  the  most  important  sources  of  reve¬ 
nue  of  the  state  of  Alabama  a  most  startling  increase  is 
shown. 

We  will  take  the  convict  department:  During  the  four 
years  of  Governor  Jelks’  administration,  the  convict  de¬ 
partment  paid  into  the  state  treasury  of  Alabama  $2,154,- 
497.11.  Governor  Kilby,  during  his  four  years,  boosted  the 
receipts  of  the  convict  department  to  the  enormous  total 
of  $7,987,409.03.  A  study  of  the  table  accompanying  this 
article  will  show  that  each  governor  including  Comer, 
O’Neal  and  Henderson,  built  up  the  receipts  in  this  de¬ 
partment  in  almost  the  same  proportion.  Governor  Hen¬ 
derson,  however,  had  the  greatest  increase  in  receipts  in 
this  department  when  he  boosted  the  O’Neal  receipts  al¬ 
most  two  million  dollars.  Governor  Henderson  gave  a 
great  deal  of  personal  attention  to  the  convict  department, 
and  it  was  due  to  his  efforts  and  the  efforts  of  the  compe¬ 
tent  men  which  he  had  in  charge  that  he  reached  the  high 
water  mark  in  receipts  prior  to  the  Kilby  administration, 
which  latter  administration  reached  the  peak  in  practically 
every  activity  of  the  state  government. 

Going  to  the  other  side  of  the  ledger,  the  accompanying 
table  of  comparative  receipts  and  expenditures  for  the  five 
administrations  enumerated  above  shows  that  the  stock¬ 
holders  in  the  incorporation  known  as  the  state  of  Ala¬ 
bama  have  received  amounts  commensurate  with  the 
amounts  paid  into  the  state  treasury.  The  article  Monday 
explained  the  greatly  increased  amount,  in  fact,  the  enor¬ 
mously  increased  amounts,  gvien  back  to  the  stockholders 
during  the  Kilby  administration  as  compared  with  the 
amounts  given  back  during  the  Jelks  administration.  The 
accompanying  table  shows  that  each  succeeding  governor 
of  Alabama  gave  back  to  the  people  of  Alabama,  the 
stockholders  in  the  incorporation,  more  and  more  as  they 
received  more  and  more  from  the  people. 

In  this  connection  it  is  shown  in  the  table  that  Governor 
Jelks  received  $1,055,793.14  more  than  he  paid  out.  In 
other  words,  when  Governor  Jelks  surrendered  to  Governor 
Comer,  the  state  of  Alabama  had  a  huge  surplus  in  the 
treasury.  Governor  Comer,  during  his  four  years,  paid  out 
$1,521,108.33  more  than  he  received.  It  must  be  explained, 
however,  that  Governer  Comer  expended  this  money  for 
permanent  additions  to  the  sum  total  of  the  assets  of  the 
stockholders  of  Alabama.  In  other  words,  Governor  Co¬ 
mer  took  the  surplus  of  Governor  Jelks  and  took  the  in¬ 
creased  amounts  that  he  received  into  the  state  treasury 
over  and  above  what  Governor  Jelks  received  and  spent 
it  to  give  the  stockholders  of  the  incorporation  of  Alabama 
countless  new  school  buildings  and  school  appropriations 
and  expenditures  on  other  necessary  activities,  which 
brought  him  $1,521,108.33  in  the  hole,  so  far  as  the  state 
treasury  was  concerned. 

Governor  O’Neal  expended  during  his  administration  a 
total  of  $1,328,743.18  more  than  he  took  in.  The  excess  of 
disbursements  of  Governor  O’Neal  will  be  shown  in  a  later 
article  to  have  resulted  from  the  fact  that  he  added  to  the 
physical  assets  of  the  incorporation  known  as  the  state  of 
Alabama  considerably  more  than  the  excess  of  disburse¬ 
ments  over  receipts  shows.  Governor  Henderson  spent 
$769,542.66  more  than  he  took  in.  A  later  article  will  show 
that  Governor  Henderson  not  only  added  to  the  assets  of 
the  stockholders  of  the  incorporation  known  as  the  state  of 


19 


Alabama,  but  that  he  used  the  money  that  he  received  to 
retire  more  than  one  million  dollars  in  the  floating  indebt¬ 
edness  of  the  state  which  he  inherited  when  he  took  office. 

And  now  we  come  to  the  administration  of  Governor 
Kilby.  The  accompanying  table  shows  that  Governor 
Kilby  received  $2,033,428.56  more  than  he  spent.  And  an 
accompanying  note  to  this  explains  the  difference  between 
the  amount  that  Governor  Kilby  received  and  the  amount 
that  Governor  Kilby  spent.  This  note  explains  that  there 
is  not  now  a  surplus  in  the  state  treasury  of  the  difference 
between  what  Governor  Kilby  received  and  what  Governor 
Kilby  spent. 

The  table  does  not  show  in  its  total  the  results  financially 
of  the  administration  of  Governor  Kilby.  In  spite  of  the 
enormous  increase  in  the  receipts  and  the  accompanying 
enormous  increase  in  the  dividends  of  the  stockholders,  of 
the  incorporation  of  Alabama,  Governor  Kilby  paid  up 
more  than  one  million  dollars  of  the  floating  indebtedness 
of  the  state  and  at  the  same  time  gave  the  stockholders  in 
assets  a  great  amount.  We  will  take,  for  instance,  Gov¬ 
ernor  Kilby’s  great  accomplishment,  the  construction  of 
what  is  said  to  be  the  most  modern,  the  most  commodious, 
the  most  practical  state  prison  in  the  United  States,  known 
as  Kilby  Prison  and  located  at  Montgomery. 

This  prison  cost  the  people  of  Alabama  a  total  of  $1,- 
215,000  in  round  figures.  This  money  as  a  matter  of  fact 
did  not  cost  the  people  of  Alabama  a  penny.  The  convict 
department  of  Alabama,  which  has  already  been  discussed 
in  this  article,  netted  the  people  of  Alabama  more  during 
his  administration  than  the  prison  cost.  Therefore,  Kilby 
Prison  can  be  added  to  the  assets  of  the  people  of  Alabama 
without  adding  to  the  indebtedness  of  the  people  of  Alaba¬ 
ma.  And  to  analyze  further  the  accompanying  table:  Gov¬ 
ernor  Kilby  found  new  sources  of  revenue.  Governor  Kilby 
conceived  the  idea  that  the  God-given  resources  of  Ala¬ 
bama,  the  mineral  resources,  were  not  given  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  exploitation  by  favored  individuals.  He  believed, 
and  he  convinced  the  legislature,  that  every  ton  of  coal  and 
iron  ore  taken  from  the  soil  of  Alabama  should  be  taxed. 
In  these  two  items  alone  he  added  in  two  years  of  his  ad¬ 
ministration  a  total  of  more  than  $1,135,000  to  the  revenue 
of  the  state.  Unless  the  taxation  on  iron  ore  and  coal  is 
abolished  by  the  next  legislature  the  incoming  administra¬ 
tion  will  receive  more  than  $2,750,000  from  these  two 
sources  alone. 

A  comparison  of  the  amount  of  money  required  from  the 
stockholders  of  the  incorporation  of  Alabama  for  the  re¬ 
tirement  of  bonds  and  bonds  refunded  will  show  that  Gov¬ 
ernor  Kilby  retired  $500,000  worth  of  bonds  and  refunded 
$454,000  worth  of  bonds.  The  table  does  not  show  the 
other  administrations  mentioned  in  this  article  retired  or 
refunded  bonds. 

Without  disparagement  of  other  administrations  enum¬ 
erated  in  this  article  it  may  be  stated  that  the  Kilby  ad¬ 


ministration  created  a  considerable  number  of  activities. 
Among  them  was  the  Workman’s  Compensation  Bureau, 
the  Child  Welfare  Department,  the  State  Securities  Com¬ 
mission,  the  Law  Enforcement  Department,  The  Board  of 
Control  and  Economy,  and  the  Social  Hygiene  Board.  In 
other  words,  there  was  a  constant  addition  to  the  dividends 
to  the  stockholders  of  Alabama  during  Governor  Kilby’s 
administration.  It  may  be  explained  that  the  purpose  of 
these  articles  is  not  to  laud  Governor  Kilby’s  administra¬ 
tion  or  to  disparage  any  other  administration  of  the  state 
government,  but  to  simply  show  to  the  stockholders  of  the 
incorporation  of  Alabama  what  they  have  been  receiving 
in  proportion  to  what  they  have  been  paying.  If  Governor 
Kilby’s  administration,  by  comparison,  shows  progress  the 
writer  of  these  articles  does  not  wish  to  conceal  it,  to  con¬ 
done  it  or  to  laud  it.  The  comparison  speaks  for  itself.  The 
cold  figures  are  there  for  each  administration  and  the 
friends  and  supporters  of  each  administration  can  take 
particular  pride  because  Alabama  did  not  have  a  back- 
stepping  governor,  in  the  last  two  decades. 

If  the  people  of  Alabama  are  in  a  disposition  to  about 
face  and  return  to  receipts  and  disbursements  of  their 
incorporation  of  four,  of  eight,  of  twelve  year  ago  they 
have  the  supreme  power  thorugh  their  representatives  to 
do  so.  The  legislature  of  Alabama  with  the  new  adminis¬ 
tration  of  the  affairs  of  Alabama  will  function  in  January 
of  the  coming  year. 

This  legislature  is  supreme.  The  members  were  chosen 
by  the  stockholders  of  the  incorporation  of  Alabama.  The 
members  represent  the  stockholders.  The  members, 
usually,  are  subservient  to  the  stockholders  and  they 
can  reduce  the  receipts  of  the  government  of  Alabama. 
They  can  reduce  the  disbursements  of  the  state  of  Alabama. 
It  is  self  evident  that  if  they  reduce  the  receipts  of  the 
state  of  Alabama  they  must  reduce  the  disbursements  of 
the  state  of  Alabama.  In  the  event  that  they  reduce  the 
receipts  of  the  state  of  Alabama,  which  means  that  they 
must  reduce  the  assessment  of  each  stockholder  in  the  in¬ 
corporation  of  Alabama,  where  will  they  reduce  the  ex¬ 
penditure?  Will  they  reduce  it  in  education?  Will  they 
reduce  it  in  old  soldiers?  Will  they  reduce  it  in  the  health? 
Will  they  reduce  it  in  the  hospitals  and  eleemosynary  insti¬ 
tutions?  or  the  number  of  the  employees  of  the  state? 
Will  they  reduce  the  salaries  of  employees  of  the  state? 
The  answer  will  be  found  in  the  acts  of  the  legislature  of 
1923. 

There  will  go  into  office  a  governor  who  will  succeed 
Givernor  Kilby.  This  governor  will  be  W.  W.  Brandon. 
Probably  there  has  never  gone  into  office  of  Alabama  a 
governor  more  familiar  with  every  activity  of  the  state 
government.  The  success  of  or  failure  of  the  administra¬ 
tion  of  Governor  Brandon  will  be  shown  at  the  end  of  his 
administration  in  a  table  of  financial  statistics  similar  to 


TOTAL  RECEIPTS  FOR  YEARS  1903  TO  1922  INCLUSIVE  BY  QUADRENNIAL  PERIOD 


1903  to  1906 


(Jelks) 

Property  tax  (real  and  personal)  including 

public  utilities . $  8,094,178.04 

General  business  licenses .  1,285,130.36 

Miscellaneous  licenses .  111,163.14 

Franchise  tax,  charter  fees,  permits,  etc.  of 

corporations  .  74,238.78 

Coal  tonnage  tax .  none 

Iron  ore  tonnage  tax .  none 

Poll  tax  .  436,792.26 

Mortgage  tax  .  202,232.94 

Convict  department .  2,154,497.11 

Oil  companies,  tags  and  licenses .  none 

Temporary  loan  . 

Refunding  Bonds  Sold  . 

Dog  registration  and  tax .  none 

Insurance  department .  365,496.71 

Motor  vehicle  license  tax .  none 

Trust  funds  including  federal  aid  to 

schools,  health,  roads  and  road  bonds.  . .  100,000.00 

Agricultural  and  industries  . .  327,641.57 

Solicitors’  fee,  trial  tax .  105,542.40 

Miscellaneous  fees,  land  sales  and  other 

receipts  .  276,351.65 


1907  to  1910 

1911  to  1914 

1915  to  1918 

1919  to  1922 

(Comer) 

(O’Neal) 

(Henderson) 

(Kilby) 

$10,984,901.57 

$13,985,622.51 

$16,114,774.00  $21,357,411.00 

1,101,635.70 

1,429,671.17 

1,403,237.00 

2,240,601.86 

91,032.02 

113,492.33 

185,986.00 

245,234.18 

125,782,71 

220,092.47 

110,088.87 

1,938,800.71 

none 

none 

none 

934,622,52 

none 

none 

none 

400,613.00 

575,598.34 

665,753.40 

677,250.84 

1,006,983.00 

378,147.58 

438,861.64 

346,794.31 

554,009.00 

3,447,012.10 

4,389,416.72 

6,448,408.80 

7,987,409.03 

54,243.80 

126,420.70 

119,398.44 

462,103.35 

300,000.00 

1,200,000.00 

900,000.00 

454,000.00 

none 

none 

35,301.46 

409,160.82 

704,328.47 

1,051.888.07 

1,240,156.64 

2,090,853.33 

none 

157,807.95 

675,416.44 

3,042,374.04 

150,000.00 

205,000.00 

239,575.42 

4,260,190.00 

428,545.74 

778,067.50 

454,250.42 

514,398.06 

133,594.46 

155,275.85 

131,953.90 

237,305.96 

537,923.71 

603,426.25 

572,421.80 

653,406.85 

.$13,533,264.96  $18,712,746.20  $24,620,796.56  $29,954,713.34  $49,689,476.71 


20 


Grand  total  gross  receipts 


t 


DISBURSEMENTS  FOR  EXPENSES  AND  OTHER  PURPOSES  OF  THE  STATE  FOR  YEARS  1903  TO  192Z, 

INCLUSIVE  BY  QUADRENNIAL  PERIODS 


1903  to  1906 
(Jelks) 

Public  school,  high  schools  and  other  educa¬ 
tional  and  eleemosynary  institutions..?  5,254,586.41 

Confederate  soldiers  .  1,481,664.43 

Insane  hospitals . . .  849,374.50 

Public  health .  17,600.00 


1907  to  1910 
(Comer) 


$ 


9,309,828.88 

3,033,530.12 

1,219,808.20 

69,735.00 


1911  to  1914 
(O'Neal) 

$11,798,932.03 

3,858,406.63 

1,377,050.35 

97,816.05 


1915  to  1918 
(Henderson) 

$13,281,758.00 

3,986,832.00 

1,389,551.00 

101,720.00 


1919  to  1922 
(Kilby) 

$19,935,321.00 

4,783,672.00 

2,446,804.00 

518,254.00 


Executive  and  judicial  departments  and 

legislature  . 

Feeding  prisoners  . 

Tax  adjusters  . 

Departments,  boards,  and  commissions, 
attorney  general,  mines,  insurance, 
history,  conservation,  banking,  prison 
inspector,  tax,  military,  geological 

survey, etc . 

Workman’s  Compensation  Bureau,  Child 
Welfare  Department,  State  Securities 
Commission,  Law  Enforcement  Depart¬ 
ment,  Board  of  Control  and  Economy, 
Social  Hygiene  Board  (Created 

1919-1920) . 

Convict  Department . 

Public  roads,  maintenance  and  new  con¬ 
structions  . 

Interest  on  public  debt  (bonds) . 

Repayment  of  loans . 

Miscellaneous  expenses  . . 

Bonds  retired . 

Bonds  refunded  . 


760,343.09 

371,958.40 

none 


245,678.74 


1,025,363.33 

1,793,530.00 

677,371.92 


1,274,028.62 

447,995.50 

none 


475,856.25 


none 

2,080,749.21 

1,429,975.00 

892,347.75 


1,531,054.11 

517,557.29 

none 


650,655.73 


none 

2,907,901.50 

378,990.50 

1,429,800.00 

200,000.00 

201,375.53 


1,491,182.97 

657,485.06 

none 


732,858.69 


none 

4,324,424.07 

472,950.21' 

1,431,428.67 

1,000,000.00 

1^,854,26)5.23 


1,851,542.00 

512,088.42 

221,396.95 


1,464,981.00 


311,133.07 

5,935,937.57 

4,159,138.00 

1,385,025.24 

1,200,000.00 

1,976,874.90 

500,000.00 

454,000.00 


TOTAL . $12,477,471.82  $20,233,854.53  $25,949,539.74  $30,724,256.00  $47,656,048.15 


Receipts  in  excess  of  disbursements  as 

shown  above  . $  1,055,793.14  .  $  2,033,428.56: 

Disbursements  in  excess  of  receipts  as 

shown  above  .  $  1,521,108.33  $  1,328,743.18  $  769,542.66  . 

NOTE:  The  item  of  miscellaneous  expenses  shown  above  includes  $555,918.51,  the  cost  of  troops  on  duty  in. 
Birmingham  district  during  strike  of  1921-1922. 

Of  the  excess  of  receipts  in  Governor  Kilby’s  administration,  viz:  $2,033,428.56,  as  shown  in  the  table,  there  was: 
in  the  treasury  on  September  30th,  1922,  the  sum  of  $878,141.64,  and  approximately  all  of  the  balance  was  used  in. 
the  payments  of  warrants  outstanding  October  1st,  1918,  in  excess  of  warrants  outstanding  October  1st,  1922. 


i. 


\ 


21 


STATE  TREASURY  GETS  MONEY  FROM 

MANY  SOURCES  AS  SHOWN  BY  TABLE 

Year  Ending  September  30,  1922,  Shows  $15,621,700.73  Received  From  All 

Sources 


By  Atticus  Mullin. 

The  stockholders  in  the  incorporation  known  as  the 
state  of  Alabama  are  probably  interested  in  a  more  de¬ 
tailed  account  of  the  receipts  of  the  state  and  of  their 
sources.  The  fiscal  year  ending  September  30,  1922,  will 
probably  serve  as  a  composite  from  which  the  stock¬ 
holders  may  get  the  information  as  to  the  sources  of 
revenue  going  into  the  state  treasury. 

The  state  treasury  of  Alabama  for  the  fiscal  year  ending 
September  30,  1922,  received  a  total  of  $15,621,700.73. 
This  money  was  received  from  four  sources.  There  was 
received  into  the  general  fund  of  the  state  a  total  of  $7,- 
569,707.49.  Trust  funds  of  the  state  brought  into  the 
state  treasury  a  total  of  $3,797,745.99.  There  was  re¬ 
ceived  into  the  state  treasury  for  the  educational  fund  a 
total  of  $3,267,283.95.  The  pension  fund  of  the  state  was 
enriched  for  a  total  of  $986,963.30. 

The  general  fund  of  the  state  received  its  money  from 
the  two  and  one-half  mill  tax.  The  educational  fund  of 
the  state  received  its  money  from  the  three  mill  tax  and 
the  pension  fund  of  the  state  received  its  money  from  the 
one  mill  tax.  There  was  slight  addition  to  the  educational 
fund  and  to  the  pension  fund  outside  of  the  three  mill  tax 
and  the  one  mill  tax  which  are  shown  in  the  accompany¬ 
ing  table. 

The  table  accompanying  this  article  dealing  with  the 
sources  of  revenue  to  the  state  treasury  is  self-explanato¬ 
ry.  However,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  bring  to  the  atten¬ 
tion  of  the  stockholders  of  the  incorporation  of  Alabama 
particular  sources  of  revenue.  For  instance  the  table 
shows  that  the  department  of  agriculture  and  industries 
brought  into  the  state  for  the  year  a  total  of  $95,392.78. 

A  big  source  of  revenue  for  the  general  fund  of  the 
state  of  Alabama  is  the  convict  department.  The  gross 
receipts  of  this  department  for  the  year  is  shown  to  be 
$1,911,529.23.  This  represents  the  actual  money  which 
the  state  treasury  received  from  the  operation  of  the  con¬ 
vict  department.  It  does  not  represent  the  intrinsic  value 
in  dollars  and  cents  of  the  convict  department  to  the 
stockholders  of  the  incorporation.  In  addition  to  the 
frtoney  actualy  paid  into  the  state  by  the  convict  depart¬ 
ment  the  state  was  benefitted  by  the  convict  labor  used 
in  the  erection  of  Kilby  prison,  and  of  the  convict  labor 
used  in  the  care  and  keep  of  the  capitol  grounds,  both 
amounting  to  a  considerable  sum  if  free  labor  had  been 
employed  instead. 

And  as  an  example  of  what  the  corporations  are  doing 
the  table  shows  that  the  annual  corporation  franchise  tax, 
both  foreign  and  domestic,  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  Sep¬ 
tember  30,  was  $727,990.19.  A  glance  at  the  table  will 
show  that  there  were  other  revenues  from  corporations  not 
enumerated  in  this  total. 

This  article  will  not  attempt  to  enumerate  all  the 
sources  of  revenue  but  the  stockholders  of  the  incorpora¬ 
tion  known  as  the  state  of  Alabama  are  invited  to  peruse 
the  accompanying  table.  General  state  taxes  for  the  year 
amounted  to  $2,389,752.23.  These  taxes  are  the  taxes 
paid  by  you  and  me  who  compose  99  per  cent  of  the  stock¬ 
holders  of  the  state  of  Alabama.  They  include  real  and 
personal  taxes. 

And  looking  further  the  table  shows  that  the  coal  tonnage 
tax  amounted  to  $366,694.88.  The  iron  ore  tonnage  tax 
amounted  to  $132,885.05.  And  looking  at  the  table  it  can 
be  seen  that  the  insurance  department  brought  into  the 
state  of  Alabama’s  treasury  a  total  of  $562,179.81.  This 
was  brought  in  through  special  fees  collected  from  the 
insurance  corporations.  Another  large  soupce  of  revenue 
to  the  state  treasury  is  license  taxes.  The  fiscal  year 
ending  September  30,  1922.  saw  the  state  treasury  re¬ 
ceiving  $568,273.84  from  licenses.  In  addition  to  this 
the  treasury  received  $134,956.83  from  mortgage  taxes. 


Such  corporations  as  oil  companies  doing  a  wholesale  busi¬ 
ness  paid  into  the  state  treasury  $64,122.03,  while  the  sale 
of  oil  tags  brought  in  $52,279.62. 

Quite  an  item  in  the  receipts  of  the  state  of  Alabama 
is  the  public  utility  inspection  fees.  The  modern  public 
utility  bill,  which  Alabama  now  has  was  passed  at  the  sug¬ 
gestion  of  Governor  Thomas  E.  Kilby  in  a  message  to  his 
special  session  of  the  legislature  of  1920.  Governor  Kilby 
reached  the  conclusion  that  the  supervision  of  the  public 
utilities  of  Alabama,  including  the  railroads,  street  car 
companies,  hydro-electric  power  companies,  telephone  com¬ 
panies  and  other  public  utility  companies,  should  be  paid 
for  by  the  utilities.  A  graduated  scale  of  inspection 
fees  for  these  utilities  was  provided  in  the  utility  bill 
now  in  effect  which  yielded  the  state  a  total  of  $40,- 
425.73.  It  must  be  understood,  of  course,  that  when 
these  public  utilities  pay  this  inspection  fee,  that  the 
fee  is  really  paid  by  the  people  of  Alabama,  because 
the  public  utility  act  requires  the  Alabama  Public  Serv¬ 
ice  Commission  to  fix  rates  Which  will  yield  a  fair  re¬ 
turn  on  the  value  of  the  property  of  the  utilities  devoted 
to  the  service  of  the  people  of  Alabama. 

A  glance  at  the  table  accompanying  this  article  shows 
the  receipts  into  the  trust  fund  of  the  state  of  Alabama. 
It  should  be  explained  that  these  receipts  under  the  law 
are  not  appropriated  by  the  legislature  of  the  state  of 
Alabama  for  other  purposes  than  that  for  which  they  were 
received. 

The  larger  receipts  among  the  trust  funds  are  auto 
licenses,  which  reach  the  huge  total  of  $962,619.87  for  the 
fiscal  year  ending  September  30,  1922.  It  is  mandatory 
that  these  receipts  shall  be  used  on  the  public  roads.  The 
sale  of  highway  bonds  during  this  period  amounted  to 
$1,540,000.  This  must  be  used  on  the  public  roads.  The 
state  received  $747,874.46  from  the  Federal  Government 
during  this  period.  This  must  be  used  on  the  county 
roads,  etc.  A  glance  at  the  table  will  show  the  source  of 
revenue  for  the  educational  fund  of  three  mills  and  for 
other  special  fees.  It  will  also  show  the  receipts  for  the 
pension  fund  of  one  mill  with  other  miscellaneous  receipts. 

An  article  Sunday  morning  with  an  accompanying  table 
will  show  specifically  where  the  $15,621,700.73  received 
by  the  state  treasury  during  the  fiscal  year  ending  Sep¬ 
tember  30,  1922,  went.  Herewith  table  showing  receipts 
of  the  state  treasury  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  September 
30,  1922. 

Receipts  into  the  general  fund  fiscal  year  ending  Sep¬ 
tember  30,  1922. 


Acts,  Sale  of  . $  757.00 

Agriculture  and  Industries .  95,392.78 

Agriculture  and  Industries  Refunded  .  18.90 

Alabama  Boys  Industrial  School  Refunded.  180.00 

Assignment  tax  certificates  .  577.88 

Bill  Posters  (statewide)  .  1,000.00 

Bond  redemption  fund  .  16,600.00 

Building  and  Loan  Association  fees  .  80.00 

Carbonic  Acid  Gas  Privilege  tax .  15,492.73 

Chauffeur  license  .  11,289.32 

Coal  Tonnage  privilege  tax  .  366,694.88 

Codes,  sale  of  .  446.00 

Compromise  Penalties  on  Foreign  corpora¬ 
tions  .  5.100.00 

Convict  department  gross  receipts .  1,911.529.23 

Corporations,  Domestic  Charter  Fees  . .  23.274.20 

Corporations,  foreign  entrance  fees .  11,859.35 

Corporation  annual  Franchise  tax  foreign 

and  domestic  .  727.990.10 

Corporation  permits  .  13,236.00 

Court  cost  refunded .  195.00 

Distillers,  turpentine  license  . .  1.477.50 

Dog  tax  fund  under  Act  1915  .  1.099.50 

Dog  registrations,  Act  1919  .  11,222.78 


22 


Education  revolving  fund  refunded .  16.12 

Erecting  and  repairing  Rural  school  houses, 

refunded .  24,835.74 

Examination,  county  books  .  22,818.46 

Fees,  Auditor’s  office . 201.80 

Fees,  Court  of  Appeal  .  1,719.70 

T  Fees,  Secretary  of  State  office .  6,127.70 

Fees  State  Health  Board  (Vital  Statistics)  .  177.05 

Fees,  State  Banks  and  Trust  Companies  .  . .  16,274.49 

Fees,  Supreme  Court .  5,999.62 

Fees,  Treasurer’s  office .  794.50 

Fees,  trial  docketing .  42,046.35 

Feeding  Prisoners  refunded .  1,460.13 

Fire  Marshal  Tax .  31,213.30 

Freightlme  equipment  companies  .  2,786.97 

General  State  Taxes  Year  1921  .  2,389,752.23 


General  State  Taxes  former  years . 

General  State  Tax  (Land  and  Redemption) 
Governor’s  Contingent  fund  refunded  .... 

Insecticide  and  Fungicide  License . 

Insurance  department . 

Iron  Ore  Tonnage  privilege  tax  . 

Lease  on  Tax  lands . 

Legislative  refunds  . 

License  Taxes,  counties  . 

Liquor  Law  Enforcement  fund  . 

Military  Expense  refunded . 

Mortgage  Taxes  counties . 

Motor  Vehicle  License  prior  to  October,  1919 

Motor  Fuel  Oil  Inspection  fees  . 

News  Companies  licenses  . 

Oil  Companies  Licenses,  wholesale . * 

Oil  Tags,  sale  of  . 

Public  Service  Commission  Expenses  re¬ 
funded  . 

Public  Service  Commission  Rate  fees . 

Public  Service  Commission  Valuation  fees. 

Public  School  fund  refunded . 

Public  Utility  Inspection  fees  . 

Removing  Prisoners  refunded  . 

1  S'les,  Alabama  reports . 

Sale  Tax  Lands  . 

Sale  Personal  property,  Board  Control  .... 

Sixteenth  Section  fund  (sales)  . 

Sixteenth  section  rents  . 

Solicitor’s  fees  counties  . 

State  Board  Education  refunded  . 

State  Securities  Commission  fees,  etc.  .  . . 

State  Tax  Commission  refunded  . . 

State  Training  School  Girls  refunded  .... 
Stationery  and  office  supplies  refunded  .... 

Tax  Adjuster’s  salaries  refunded  . 

Telephone,  Telegraph,  Express  and  sleeping 

car  comoany  licenses  . 

Trading  Stamp  Companies  . 

Unclaimed  Dividend  State  Banks  . 


Totals  . $  7,569,707.49 

Trust  Funds 

United  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy .  2,500.00 

U.  S.  Forest  Reserve  .  182.10 


College  A.  &  M.  Arts  .  50,000.0t» 

Game  and  Fish  department .  35,852.3i* 

Industrial  Rehabilitation  Federal  fund  ....  6,721.52 

Markets  Produce  bureau  .  140.00- 

Oyster  Protection  fund  .  4,192.57 

Pure  food  and  drugs  .  49,256.20 

Two  and  three  per  cent  fund .  589.78 

Vocational  education,  Federal  fund,  agricul¬ 
tural  subjects,  trades  and  industries, 

teachers’  training  .  82,605.67 

Social  Hygiene  Board  .  5,839.13. 

Unclaimed  dividends,  state  banks . 

Federal  Board  of  maternity  and  infant  hy¬ 
giene  .  30,841.65. 

State  Highway  Department:  as  follows,  to-wit: 

Auto  licenses .  962,619.87 

Auto  Replacement  tags  .  1,073.00 

Auto  demonstration  tag .  1,430.00 

Sale  of  Highway  bonds .  1,540,000.00 

Accrued  interest,  highway  bonds  .  10,352.00 

Option  fees,  Highway  bonds .  2,500.00 

Premiums  on  Highway  bonds  .  1,000.00 

Federal  Fund,  refund  to  Highway  bond  ac¬ 
count  .  747,874.46 

Counties  part  of  money  put  up  to  be  used 

in  the  construction  of  roads .  237,596.70 

Miscellaneous  sources  including  the  sale 

of  trucks,  plans,  specifications,  etc....  24,578.86 

Total  . $  3,529,024.89 

Total  . $  3,797,745.99 

Educational  Fund 

Fees  examination  of  teachers  . $  10,156.13 

Fees  teachers’  placement  fund .  390.00 

Fees  teachers’  Reading  Circle  .  34.00 

Escheats  .  25.41 

Issuance  and  extension  of  teachers’  certifi¬ 
cates  .  13,628.00 

Poll  Tax  (1921)  .  283,667.50 

Special  School  fund  (1921),  3  mill  tax  ...  2,860,616.63 

Special  school  fund,  land  redemption  .  10,913.07 

Special  school  fund,  tax  former  years .  87:853.21 


Total  . $  3,267,283.95 

Pension  Fund 

Special  Pension  fund  (1921)  1  mill  tax  .  .  .  953,788.84 

Special  Pension  fund  former  years .  29,290.93 

Special  Pension  fund  land  redemption .  3,638.53 

Pension  fund  refunded  .  245.00 


Total  . $  986,963.30 

Recapitulation 

General  fund . $  7,569,707.49 

Trust  funds  .  3,797,745.90 

Educational  fund  .  3,267,283.95 

Pension  fund  .  986,963.30 


Total  . $15, 621, 700. 7X. 


74,668.92 

11,596.85 

2.00 

1,519.89 

562,179.81 

132,885.05 

1,111.25 

213.00 

568,273.84 

9,827.19 

365.08 

134,956.83 

176.67 

21,367.38 

843.90 

64,122.03 

52,279.62 

29.00 

94.05 

5,591.41 

.09 

40,425.73 

1,084.19 

592.00 

4,888.16 

120.39 

5,551.96 

2,757.92 

36,452.97 

3,000.00 

5,335.36 

2,199.30 

27,325.00 

16.00 

12.50 

31,191.79 

4,512.47 

400.58 


I 


* 


23 


DISBURSEMENTS  MUCH  LESS  THAN  RECEIPTS; 

BUDGET  SYSTEM  TICKLES  RIBS  OF  STATE  TREASURY 

In  Spite  of  Enormous  Increase  in  Activities  Kilby  Administration  Lives  Well  Within 

Its  Income 


By  Atticus  Mullin. 

On  Saturday  morning  The  Advertiser  printed  an  article 
showing  that  the  receipts  of  the  Kilby  administration  for 
the  fiscal  year  ending  September  30,  1922,  amounted  to 
$15,621,700.73.  It  was  stated  then  that  an  article  on 
Sunday  morning  would  contain  a  detailed  statement  of 
the  expenditures  during  this  period.  The  detailed  state¬ 
ment  of  expenditures  was  not  printed  on  Sunday  morning 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  writer  discovered  an  error  in  his 
figures  on  expenditures  which  required  a  correction  and 
the  examination  required  so  much  time  that  the  article 
could  not  be  printed  Sunday  morning  as  scheduled. 

Governor  Kilby  spent  during  the  fiscal  year  ending 
September  30,  1922,  a  total  of  $15,281,212.08.  It  is  seen, 
therefore,  that  the  last  fiscal  year  of  the  Kilby  adminis¬ 
tration  saw  the  state’s  expenditures  less  by  $400,000 
in  round  figures,  than  the  income  received. 

It  must  be  explained  here  that  Thomas  E.  Kilby,  in 
his  campaign  for  the  governorship,  announced  to  the 
people  of  Alabama  that  if  he  was  elected  governor 
he  would  establish  a  budget  system  which  would  keep 
the  expenditures  of  the  state  within  its  income.  Thomas 
E.  Kilby  did  not  promise  that  he  would  roll  up  a  surplus 
of  receipts  over  expenditures.  As  one  of  the  first  acts  of 
his  administration,  Governor  Kilby  had  created  a  budget 
commission  consisting  of  himself,  the  attorney  general  and 
the  state  auditor.  This  budget  commission  carefully  in¬ 
vestigated  the  needs  and  requirements  of  every  state  ac¬ 
tivity,  and  ever}'  state  department,  and  fixed  a  budget. 
Governor  Kilby  himself  sat  with  this  commission  and 
listened  to  the  arguments  produced  by  the  proponents  of 
every  activity  and  by  the  heads  of  every  department,  for 
appropriations. 

The  personnel  of  the  budget  commission  was  Gov. 
Thomas  E.  Kilby,  Attorney  General  J.  Q.  Smith,  and  State 
Auditor  Fitzhugh  Lee.  After  the  most  careful  scrutiny  of 
all  claims  for  appropriations  this  commission  fixed  a  bud¬ 
get  within  which  the  state  of  Alabama  has  lived  during  the 
four-year  period  in  which  Governor  Kilby  has  been  reign¬ 
ing  head.  At  the  time  that  the  budget  was  fixed  there  was 
much  criticism  of  those  who  fixed  the  bugdet.  It  was  said 
then  by  appropriation  seekers  that  the  members  of  the 
commission  were  hard-boiled.  But  Governor  Kilby  and 
Attorney  General  Smith  and  Auditor  Lee  insisted  that 
appropriations  must  not  exceed  the  income  of  the  state. 

The  last  year  of  the  Kilby  administration  speaks  for 
itself.  Not  only  did  the  appropriations  not  exceed  the 
budget,  but  the  state  treasury  was  benefitted  in  round 
figures  $400,000. 

It  should  be  explained  that  the  budget  commission,  es¬ 
tablished  by  a  business  governor,  was  not  niggardly  in 
its  attitude  toward  activities  which  would  benefit  the 
stockholders  of  the  incorporation  known  as  the  state  of 
Alabama.  In  other  words,  the  stockholders  of  the  state 
of  Alabama  were  given  more  dividends  during  the  Kilby 
administration  than  they  were  ever  given  by  any  other 
administration  of  the  state  government.  The  taxpayer 
will  not  overlook  the  fact,  however,  that  there  was  more 
money  received  by  the  Kilby  administration  than  was  ever 
received  by  any  other  administration  of  the  state’s  affairs. 
The  taxes  were  higher  all  around. 

There  are  some  interesting  figures  in  the  table  accom¬ 
panying  this  article.  The  expenses  of  the  executive  de¬ 
partment  of  the  state,  including  salaries,  etc.,  was  only 
$150,262.73.  The  salaries  and  expenses  of  the  judicial 
department  of  the  state,  including  those  of  the  judges 
of  the  supreme  court,  the  court  of  appeals,  and  the  em¬ 
ployes  of  both  courts,  and  of  solicitors  and  judges  of  circuit 
courts  throughout  Alabama  only  reached  a  total  of  $297,- 
802.60. 

It  has  been  explained  in  a  previous  article  that  the  sala¬ 
ries  and  expenses  of  the  employees  of  the  state  of  Alabama 


amount  to  appruAunately  only  nine  and  five-tenths  cents 
out  of  every  dollar  spent  by  the  state  treasury.  This  indi¬ 
cates  that  the  general  impression  that  the  employees  of  the 
state  cost  the  people  of  Alabama  a  huge  sum,  is  erroneous. 

The  accompanying  table  shows  that  out  of  the  receipts 
of  the  state  of  Alabama  for  the  fiscal  year  just  ended  that 
educational  and  benevolent  institutions  received  a  total  of 
$7,046,083.03.  The  operations  of  the  convict  department, 
including  circuit  court  costs,  salaries  and  maintenance 
amounted  to  $2,123,851.68.  The  miscellaneous  expenses 
of  the  state  including  feeding  prisoners,  interest  on  bonded 
debt,  and  other  large  expenses  including  strike  duty  of 
troops,  amounted  to  $816,058.38.  Accounts  refunded 
reached  a  total  of  $151,862.98.  Pensions  to  Confederate 
soldiers  reached  a  total  of  $1,232,395.50.  The  highway 
department  spent  on  the  public  roads  of  the  state  $2,- 
672.072. 

Herewith  may  be  found  a  table  showing  the  disburse¬ 
ments  of  the  state  government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending 
September  30,  1922. 

EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT 


To  Governor  and  employees,  salaries . $  17,400.00 

To  State  Auditor  and  employees,  salaries  . . .  14,400.00 

To  State  Treasurer  and  employees,  salaries.  10,800.00 

To  Secretary  of  State,  salaries .  6,019.94 

To  Superintendent  of  Education  and  em- 

loyees,  salaries .  14,640.00 

To  Attorney  General  and  employees,  salaries  5,520.00 
To  Agriculture  and  Industries  and  employ-  / 

ees,  salaries .  7,520.00 

To  Examiner  of  Public  Accounts,  salaries 

and  expense  .  54,270.30  v 

To  Watchman  at  Capitol,  salaries  .  6,006.00 

To  Servants  at  Capittol,  salaries .  2,396.67 

To  Temporary  Clerk,  salaries  .  11,289.56 


150,262.73 

JUDICIAL  DEPARTMENT 

To  Justice  of  Supreme  Court,  salaries  ....$  45,500.00 

To  Clerk  of  Supreme  Court  and  employees, 

salaries  .  6,620.00 

To  Employees  of  Supreme  Court,  salaries  . .  14,420.00 

To  Judge  Court  of  Appeals,  salaries .  18,000.00 

To  Employees,  Court  of  Appeals,  salaries  . .  4,150.00 

To  Judge  of  Circuit  Court,  salaries .  148,000.00 

To  Circuit  Court  Solicitors,  salaries .  52,800.00 

To  Deputy  Solicitors,  10th  Judicial  Circuit  .  7,725.00 

To  Special  Judges,  expense  accounts .  587.80 


297,802.80 

DEPARTMENT  BOARDS  AND  COMMISSIONERS 


To  Attorney  Generals  Office,  expense . $  42,084.36 

To  State  Land  Agent,  expense .  36.36 

To  Alabama  Public  Service  Commission, 

salaries  .  14,300.00 

To  Alabama  Public  Service  Commission, 

expert  fund  .  1,595.55 

To  Alabama  Public  Service  Commission,  ex¬ 
pense  .  36,232.47 

To  State  Mine  Inspectors,  salaries .  14,375.00 

To  State  Mine  Inspectors,  expense  .  5,335.67 

To  Geological  Survey,  Eugene  A.  Smith  .  . .  15,000.00 

To  Insurance  Commission,  salaries .  6,496.75 

To  Agricultural  and  Industries,  expense  . . .  14,829.31 

To  Insurance  Commission,  expense . .  9,859.02 

To  Experiment  Station,  appropriation .  4,000.00 

To  State  Health  Department,  appropriation.  150,000.00 
To  Archives  and  History,  salaries  .  5,000.00 


24 


v 


■* 


To  Archives  and  History,  expense .  12,999.52 

To  State  Prison  Department,  salaries  and 

expense .  9,476.48 

To  Game  and  Fish,  salaries  and  expense. .  . .  14,986.72 

To  State  Tax  Commission,  salaries  .  14,400.00 

■j  To  State  Tax  Commission,  section  95  and  142  2,225.43 

To  State  Tax  Commission,  section  141  .  2,369.43 

To  State  Tax  Commission,  section  9-A,  Auto 

License  .  22,189.90 

To  Pure  Food  and  Drugs,  salaries  and  ex¬ 
pense  .  16,259.94 

State  Banking  Board,  salaries  and  expense.  21,470.01 

Workman’s  Compensation  Bureau .  2,130.96 

State  Tax  Commission,  section  137  .  46,290.16 

State  Board  of  Law  Applicants .  806.80 

Alabama  Tuberculosis  Commission .  6,000.00 

To  Fuel  Administration .  210.51 

To  State  Live  Stock  Sanitary  Board,  salaries 

and  expense .  4,997.30 

To  Tick  Eradication  Fund,  salaries  and  ex¬ 
pense  .  .12,674.50 

To  State  Harbor  Commission,  salaries  ....  7,760.00 

To  County  Board  of  Equalization,  postage  . .  713.63 

To  Oyster  Protection  Fund  .  5,912.48 

To  Board  of  Horticulture  .  7,500.00 

To  Insecticide  and  Fungicide  Act  .  1,500.00 

To  Farm  Demonstration  Work .  19,440.50 

To  Law  Enforcement  Department  . -  48,867.42 

To  Alabama  Centennial  Commission .  900.00 

To  State  Board  of  Control  and  Economy, 

salaries  and  expense  .  34,326.67 

To  State  Budget  Commission .  2,400.00 

To  Fire  Marshal  Department  .  20,904.75 

To  Code  Commissioner  . >....  4,500.00 

•  To  Social  Hygiene  Board  .  5,648.17 

To  Child  Welfare  Department .  30,746.8$ 

To  State  Securities  Commission .  9,365.89 

To  Produce  Markets  Bureau  .  41.38 

To  Tuberculosis,  Hog  Cholera,  Glanders,  etc.  4,396.45 

■j  To  Soil  Survey  Work  .  3,937.23 

*  To  Motor  Fuel  Inspection  Department .  3,147.87 

To  Child  Welfare  Department  (former 

years)  .  1,500.00 

To  Board  of  Maternity  and  Infant  Hygiene  17,477.91 
To  Alabama  Memiroal  Commission .  62.50 


$  739,641.23 

MILITARY  DEPARTMENT 

Military  Department . $  51,184.00 

EDUCATIONAL  AND  BENEVOLENT 

To  Agricultural  Schools,  maintenance . $  75,000.00 

To  County  High  Schools,  maintenance .  236,000.00 

To  Alabama  Polytechnic  Institute .  318,280.00 

To  Alabama  Technical  Institute  and  College 

for  Women  .  155,281.63 

To  University  of  Alabama  .  263,000.00 

To  Alabama  Industrial  School  for  white  boys, 

maintenance  and  buildings  .  179,094.83 

To  Alabama  School  for  Deaf  and  Blind, 

maintenance  .  111,450.00 

To  Alabama  Insane  Hospital .  662,691.77 

To  College  A.  &  M.  Arts,  maintenance  ....  50,000.00 

To  Confederate  Soldiers  Home .  36,970.00 

To  State  Training  School  for  Girls,  buildings 

and  maintenance,  etc .  138,231.53 

To  Alabama  Reform  School  for  Juvenile 

Negro  Law  Breakers,  maintenance .  37,519.45 

To  Erection  and  Repairing  Rural  School 

Houses  .  139.090.10 

To  School  Library  Fund  .  3,620.00 

To  Bonus  School  Fund .  197,000.00 

To  Public  School,  counties .  3.750.452.47 

To  Normal  Schools  .  236.194.04 

To  Educational  Contigent  Fund  .  3.088.72 

To  Vocational  Education  .  174.163.17 

To  Clarke  County  High  Schools  .  600.00 

To  Vocational  School  for  Girls  .  6.320.00 

To  Training  for  Teachers  .  14.417.99 

j  To  Certification  and  Placement  of  Teachers.  14  924.61 
To  Supervision  of  Secondary  Education  . . .  4.641.06 

To  Examination  of  Teachers  .  925.56 

To  Educational  Revolving  Fund  .  99.774.59 

To  Tuskegee  Normal  and  Industrial  Institute  5  000.00 


To  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  for 

Negroes  .  15,000.00 

To  State  Normal  School  for  Colored  at  Mont¬ 
gomery  .  40,000.00 

To  Alabama  Home  .  46,060.67 

To  Removal  of  Illiteracy .  12,499.44 

To  Industrial  Rehabilitation  .  15,653.79 

To  Medical  Attention  at  State  Institutions  . .  3,138.06 


7,046,083.03 

CONVICT  DEPARTMENT 

To  Circuit  Court  costs  . $  41,937.55 

To  Salaries  .  397,899.05 

To  Maintenance  .  1,684,015.08 


2,123,851.68 

MISCELLANEOUS  EXPENSE 

Feeding  Prisoners  . $  129,729.23 

Removal  of  State  Prisoners .  2,262.94 

Removal  of  Prisoners,  other  states .  4,023.29 

Advertising  Tax  Sales  .  4,500.00 

Fuel,  Lights  and  Water .  6,188.97 

Postage  .  3,289.05 

Stationery  and  Supplies,  office .  5,909.28 

Repairing  and  Refurnishing  Capitol  .......  16,899.83 

Governor’s  Contingent  Fund .  8,042.15 

Interest  on  Bonded  Debt .  339,720.00 

Distributing  Public  Documents .  355.92 

Making  lists  of  Public  Lands .  14.20 

Public  Printing  .  18,373.44 

Maintenance  Governor’s  Mansion  . .  224.76 

Telephone  and  Telegraph .  ^  4,407.14 

Premium  Alabama  Raised  Steers .  *  2,200.00 

Insurance  on  Capitol  .  3,442.00 

Premium  on  bonds,  officials  and  employees.  .  2,509.67 

County  Land  Agent .  81.00 

Registration  of  Voters,  per  diem  and  expense  69,164.03 

Special  Appropriation  .  705.00 

Boys  and  Girls  Clubs  .  100.00 

County  Tax  Adjuster  .  77,594.70 

Governor’s  Proclamations  .  6,015.09 

Arrest  of  Absconding  Felons  .  1,100.00 

Dog  Registration  Fund .  5,917.24 

Impeachment  Proceedings  .  88.05 

Troops  on  Strike  Duty .  82,247.28 

State  Serum  Plant .  1,423.47 

Copying  Acts  .  51.93 

U.  D.  C.  Scholarship  Fund .  2,500.00 

Confederate  Museum .  250.00 

Pasteur  Treatments  .  8,158.89 

Spanish- American  War  Relief  Fund .  13.33 

Prohibition  Law  Enforcement  .  6,785.49 

Substitution  of  Tax  Records .  •  507.81 

Publishing  Election  Results  .  17.76 

Quarantine  Enforcement  .  1.225.00 


$  816,058.13 

ACCOUNTS  REFUNDED 

Overpayments  by  Officials . .  $  264.69 

Overpayments  of  Taxes  .  10,107.87 

License  Refunded  .  1,512.78 

Counties’  Part  Land  Sold  for  Taxes .  2.322.34 

Auto  License  Refunded  .  1,367.09 

Income  Tax  Refunded  .  289.39 

Erroneous  Assessments  .  930.37 

Erroneous  Sales  of  Land .  24.42 

Franchise  Tax  (Counties’  part)  .  107  928.49 

Carbonic  Acid  Gas  Tax  (Counties’  part)  .  .  5.303.72 

Motor  Oil  Inspection  (refunded)  .  13,213.60 

Court  Costs  .  37.25 

Judgments  Rendered .  6.925.52 

Coal  Tonnage  Tax  (refund)  .  339.68 

General  Fund  .  1,292.77 

Auto  Demonstration  Tags  (refund)  .  3.00 


$  151,862.98 

PENSIONS 

Pensions  to  Confederate  Soldiers . $  1,232,393.59 

HIGHWAY  DEPARTMENT 

Highway  Department,  Public  Roads,  etc.  .  .  .  $  2.672,072.09 


$15, 281, 212. OS 


25 


STATE  OWNS  PROPERTY 

TO  VALUE  OF  $34,888,810.19 

Alabama  Polytechnic  Institute  at  Auburn  Valued  at  $789,375,000;  Governor  Kilby 

Adds  $2,356,465.11  to  Permanent  State  Assets 


By  Atticus  Mullin. 

Previous  articles  have  dealt  with  the  income  and  dis¬ 
bursements  of  the  State  government.  This  article  will  deal 
with  what  the  state  of  Alabama  really  owns  in  the  way 
of  physical  property.  It  will  also  deal  with  the  amount 
spent  in  permanent  improvements  and  in  new  construction 
during  the  four  years  of  the  Kilby  administration,  1919- 
1922,  inclusive. 

The  state  of  Alabama  owns  physical  property  valued  at 
$34,888,810.19.  This  valuation  was  arrived  at  through  in¬ 
ventory  and  appraisement  of  the  properties  of  the  slate  by 
experts.  It  includes  the  value  of  the  eleemosynary  insti¬ 
tutions  of  the  state;  of  the  educational  institutions  of  the 
state;  of  the  lands,  buildings  and  equipment  used  in  the 
convict  department  of  the  state;  and  of  the  administrative 
property  of  the  state,  including  lands  and  buildings  of  the 
state,  etc. 

During  the  four  years  of  Governor  Kilby’s  administra¬ 
tion  there  was  added  to  the  permanent  values  of  the  state 
of  Alabama,  which  have  been  shown  in  these  articles  to  be¬ 
long  to  the  incorporation  of  the  people  of  Alabama,  of 
which  you  and  I  are  the  stockholders,  a  total  of  $2,356,- 
465.11.  It  must  be  explained,  however,  that  in  addition  to 
the  running  expenses  of  the  state  government  which  have 
been  outlined  in  previous  articles  and  in  addition  to  ap¬ 
propriations  for  all  necessary  state  activities,  that  his  ad¬ 
ministration  not  only  added  to  the  physical  assets  of  the 
state  but  did  many  other  things  in  addition.  The  Kilby 
administration  retired  $500,000  in  bonds.  It  paid  off 
$1,558,000  in  unpaid  warrants  inherited  from  a  previous 
administration.  It  paid  off  a  short  time  loan  of  $300,- 
000  made  by  a  previous  administration. 

In  other  words,  in  addition  to  running  within  its  income 
the  Kilby  administration  took  care  of  in  permanent  im¬ 
provements  and  in  payment  of  debts  a  total  of  $4,714,465. 

In  this  connection  it  may  be  interesting  to  observe  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  there  is  an  agitation  to  move  the  Ala¬ 
bama  Polytechnic  Institute  to  Montgomery,  that  the  phy¬ 
sical  property,  including  grounds,  buildings  and  equipment 
of  the  Alabama  Polytechnic  Institute  valued  at  $789,- 
375.00.  The  neglect  by  the  state  of  this  institution  is  re¬ 
flected  in  the  value  shown. 

The  eleemosynary  institutions  of  Alabama  are  valued  at 
$3,023,701.39.  These  institutions  include  the  Bryce  Hos¬ 
pital,  the  Searcy  Hospital  and  others.  These  institutions 
have  been  built  up  and  added  to  by  many  state  administra¬ 
tions.  Every  administration  has  taken  care  of  them  out  of 
the  receipts  of  the  state  treasury.  They  are  a  necessary 
activity  of  the  state  government  and  a  previous  article  has 
shown  the  attention  they  have  received  from  the  present 
administration. 

There  will  be  found  in  the  accompanying  table  figures 
showing  the  value  of  the  physical  property  of  all  educa¬ 
tional  institutions  of  the  state.  This  table  is  self-explan¬ 
atory  and  needs  no  comment  from  the  writer. 

The  value  of  the  lands,  buildings  and  equipment  neces¬ 
sary  to  take  care  of  the  state  convicts  is  shown  in  the 
table.  The  greatest  value,  of  course,  is  the  new  Kilby 
Prison,  which  is  shown  to  be  worth  $1,215,354.34.  The  next 
more  valuable  convict  property  of  the  state  is  Speigner 
Prison,  with  its  buildings  and  grounds  and  equipment, 
which  is  valued  at  $763,765.98.  Other  prison  property  val¬ 
ues  are  shown  in  the  table. 

Relative  to  administrative  property,  an  appraisal  and 
inventory  shows  that  the  capitol  building,  including  land 
and  building,  is  worth  $1,630,000.  The  furniture  and  fix¬ 
tures  at  the  capitol  building  are  valued  at  $170,000.  Other 
administrative  property  valuation  is  shown  in  the  accom¬ 
panying  table. 


Among  the  things  that  Governor  Kilby’s  administration 
has  done  in  the  way  of  adding  permanent  additions  to  the 
state  is  an  expenditure  for  the  girls’  dormitory,  etc.,  at 
the  University  of  Alabama,  of  $115,000.  There  was  added 
to  teacher  training  building  at  the  state  normal  school  $90,- 
000.  The  girls’  training  school  at  Birmingham  had  values 
added  of  $140,913.18.  The  accompanying  table  will  show 
other  expenditures  for  permanent  improvements,  including 
new  construction  for  the  four  year  period  of  the  present 
administration. 


VALUE  OF  STATE’S  PROPERTY  AS  OF  SEPTEMBER 

30TH,  1922 


ELEEMOSYNARY  INSTITUTIONS 


Bryce  Hospital,  lands,  buildings  and  equip¬ 
ment  . . : 

Alabama  Homes,  lands  buildings  and  equip¬ 
ment  . 

Searcy  Hospital,  lands,  buildings  and  equip¬ 
ment  . 

Boys  Industrial  School,  lands,  buildings  and 

equipment . 

State  Training  School  for  Girls,  lands,  build¬ 
ings  and  equipment . 

Alabama  Reform  School  for  Juvenile  Negro 
Law  Breakers,  lands,  buildings  and 

equipment . 

Alabama  School  for  Deaf,  lands,  buildings 

and  equipment . 

Alabama  School  for  Blind,  lands,  buildings 

and  equipment  . - . 

Alabama  School  for  Deaf  and  Blind  negroes, 

lands,  buildings  and  equipment . 

Confederate  Soldiers  Home,  lands,  buildings 
and  equipment  . 


1,482,569.06 

199,589.52 

246,749.62 

315,430.50 

164,063.18 

84,754.02 

291,732.24 

157,200.00 

32,039.00 

49,574.25 


$  3,023,701.39 


EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS 


University  of  Alabama .  1,429,947.83 

Alabama  Polytechnic  Institute  .  789,375.00 

Alabama  Girls  Technical  Institute .  760,360.00 

Alabama  Agricultural  Schools  .  412,350.00 

Alabama  County  High  Schools .  1,515,225.00 

Alabama  Normal  Schools  .  1,680,730.00 

Alabama  Public  Schools .  19,822,929.00 

16th  Sectional  School  Lands  .  1,111,680.00 


$27,522,596.83 

CONVICT  DEPARTMENT  VALUES 


Kilby  Prison,  lands,  buildings  and  equip¬ 
ment  . ! 

Number  Four  Prison,  lands,  buildings  and 

equipment . 

Speigner  Prison,  lands,  buildings  and  equip¬ 
ment  . 

Wetumpka  Penitentiary,  lands,  buildings  and 

equipment . 

Numper  Five  Prison,  lands,  buildings  and 

equipment . 

Head  Place,  lands . 

Aldrich,  equipment  . . 

Banner,  equipment . 

Belle  Ellen,  equipment . 

Flat  Top,  equipment . 

River  Falls,  equipment . 


1,215,354.34 

131,425.63 

763,765.98 

94,800.45 

75,000.00 

12,500.00 

7,115.47 

11,777.90 

7,799.71 

12,290.29 

4,182.20 


$  2,336,011.97 


26 


ADMINISTRATIVE  PROPERTY 

1,630,000.00 
170,000.00 
55,000.00 
30,000.00 
24,000.00 

27,500.00 
70,000.00 


$  2,006,500.00 


GRAND  TOTAL  . $34,888,810.19 

ASSETS  ADDED 

EXPENDITURES  FOR  PERMANENT  IMPROVE¬ 
MENTS  AND  NEW  CONSTRUCTION  FOR 
1919-1922  INCLUSIVE: 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ALABAMA,  Tuscaloosa. 

Girls’  Dormitory,  etc  ......  $  115,000.00 

TEACHERS  TRAINING  BUILDINGS  AT  NORMAL. 
SCHOOLS: 

Jacksonville  Normal  Echool  30,000.00 

Florence  Normal  School  ....  30,000.00 

Livingston  Normal  School .  .  30,000.00  90,000.00 


^  Capitol  Building,  land  and  building . 

Furniture  and  fixtures,  Capitol  Building.  . 

Governor’s  Mansion,  land  and  building . 

Board  of  Health,  land  and  building . 

7  Highway  Department,  land  and  building  .  . 
White  House  of  Confederacy,  land  and 

building . 

Supreme  Library,  land  and  building . 


GIRLS  TRAINING  SCHOOL,  Birmingham: 


Cost  of  lands,  including  the 
clearing  and  grubbing  ....  10,471.63 

Four  Dormitories  .  78,866.89 

Hospital  Building  and  School 

House . : .  35,051.30 

Dak-y  Barn  .  1,748.25 

Laundry  building  .  1,500.00 

Equipment  and  Materials  . .  10,501.13 

Outside  Electrical  Work  .  .  .  3'93.75 

Engineering,  Labor  and  oth¬ 
er  expense  .  2,380.23 


140,913.18 


BOYS’  INDUSTRIAL  SCHOOL,  East  Lake: 


Dormitory,  construction  cost.  42,545.03 

Gymnasium .  19,539.37 

Heating  System  .  5,214.58 

Swimming  Pool  .  3,647.67 

Equipment  for  Woodworking 
Shop,  Machine  Shop, 

Laundry,  Shoe  Shop, 

Printing  Shop,  Tailor 
Shop,  Farm  and  Dormi¬ 
tories  .  24,790.08 

Dairy  Barn .  6,500.00 


102,236.73 


ALABAMA  HOME  FOR  FEEBLE  MINDED, 

Tuscaloosa : 

New  Construction,  Dormi¬ 
tory,  Kitchen  and  Dining 

Hall,  Power  House,  etc.  . .  .  199,589.52 


BRYCE  HOSPITAL,  Tuscaloosa: 


New  Power  House  .  50,905.24 

Female  Tubercular  Ward, 

(capacity  50  beds) .  12,500.00 

Dairy  Cottage  .  2,000.00 

Garage  and  Filling  Station 

(6  cars)  .  2,500.00 

Corn  Cribs,  (five)  .  1,000.00 

Cow  Barn  .  3,000.00 

Expenditures  on  New 

Kitchen  .  1,148.04 

Foundation  for  36  room 

building .  2,500.00 

Cost  of  repairs  to  25  wards 
and  3  dining  halls,  ceiling, 

plumbing,  etc .  55,670.80 

Repair  work  on  other  build¬ 
ings  .  3,350.00 


SPEIGNER  PRISON: 

New  Prison  and  Laundry 
Building . 

NUMBER  FOUR  PRISON, 

Near  Montgomery: 

New  Buildings . 

WETUMPKA  PRISON: 

Remodeling  Penitentiary . 

KILBY  PRISON,  Montgomery: 

Cost  of  Land,  Buildings, 

Dairy,  Walls  and  Equip¬ 
ment  . $  1,053,235.02 

Cotton  Mills,  Shirt  Factory, 

Dye  house,  Warehouse..  198,634.31 


ALABAMA  REFORM  SCHOOL,  Mt.  Meigs: 

Dormitory  and  School 
house  . 

STATE  CAPITOL: 

Painting  and  Repairs  .... 

Cost  of  Building  for  State 
Board  of  Health,  Mont¬ 
gomery  . 

ALABAMA  POLYTECHNIC 
INSTITUTE,  (Auburn).. 

ALABAMA  TECHNICAL  IN¬ 
STITUTE  AND  COL¬ 
LEGE  FOR  WOMEN, 

Montevallo  . 


/ 


1 

X 

27 


134,574.08 

19,054.04 

26,056.12 

26,218.27 

1,251,869.33 

8,513.84 

12,440.00 

30,000.00 

125,000.00 

75,000.00 

2,356,465.11 


Dollars  Appropriated  For  Health  of  People 

Directly  Responsible  For  Saving  of  Lives 

State  Began  to  Give  Serious  Attention  to  Well-Being  of  Its  Stockholders  in  1917  and 

Preventable  Diseases  Are  Rapidly  Controlled 


This  series  of  articles  has  stressed  the  fact  that  the 
Tour  necessary  activities  of  the  state  government  are 
schools,  old  soldiers,  eleemosynary  activities  and  the  pub¬ 
lic  health.  These  are  the  activities  which  the  stockholders 
•of  the  incorporation  known  as  the  state  of  Alabama,  which 
includes  you  and  me,  expect  to  be  taken  care  of.  These 
activities  are  denominated  because  of  the  size  and  mag¬ 
nitude  of  the  appropriations  made  for  them.  Among  these 
Tour  activities  the  state  has  listed  the  public  health  as 
last.  In  other  words,  the  public  health  has  been  con¬ 
sidered  by  every  administration  of  the  state  government 
as  the  last  necessary  activity  which  should  be  taken  care 
of.  The  public  health  received  an  appropriation  of  only 
$150,000  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  September  30,  1922. 
The  other  activities  named  cost  the  state  of  Alabama 
millions  for  the  same  period,  as  has  been  shown  in  prev¬ 
ious  articles. 

It  was  promised  by  the  writer  of  these  articles  that 
there  should  be  no  expressions  of  opinions,  or  in  other 
"words  any  editorial  matter  contained.  When  the  writer 
made  this  assertion  he  did  not  know  that  he  would  be 
called  upon  to  discuss  in  detail  the  activities  of  the  state 
of  Alabama  towards  the  health  of  its  incorporators,  the 
stockholders. 

The  record  of  the  health  department  of  Alabama  as 
shown  by  indisputable  figures,  makes  it  certain  that  the 
proportion  of  money  appropriated  by  the  legislature  of 
Alabama  for  the  health  department  is  directly  reflected  in 
the  number  of  lives  saved  of  the  incorporators  and  stock¬ 
holders  of  the  state  of  Alabama.  It  may  be  startling  to 
the  readers  of  this  article  to  know  that  the  legislature  of 
Alabama,  representing  the  stockholders  of  the  incorpora¬ 
tion,  has  in  its  power  the  question  of  life  and  death.  It 
may  startle  the  incorporators  and  stockholders  to  know 
that  for  every  few  dollars  spent  a  human  life  is  saved. 
The  value  and  the  importance  of  a  human  life  is  in  the 
hands  of  the  legally  chosen  directors  (the  legislators) 
and  there  is  a  direct  responsibility  on  these  directors  for 
every  human  life  sacrificed  in  Alabama  for  such  prevent¬ 
able  diseases  as  typhoid,  malaria,  pellagra  and  infantile 
diarrhea.  The  conclusion  cannot  be  escaped  nor  contro¬ 
verted  because  of  the  vital  statistics  which  show  the  direct 
result  of  every  dollar  spent  for  public  health  as  compared 
with  every  life  lost  and  saved. 

But  the  number  of  deaths  from  typhoid  fever  alone  has 
been  reduced  from  999  in  1917  to  372  in  1922.  It  must  be 
explained  here  that  the  appropriations  for  the  state  health 
which  really  meant  something  and  which  really  marked 
the  beginning  of  preventive  control  in  Alabama  began 
in  1917.  The  deaths  before  this  time  from  typhoid  must 
be  charged  to  the  representatives  of  the  stockholders. 

In  1917  there  were  530  deaths  from  malaria  in  Alabama. 
In  1921  there  were  only  231  deaths  from  this  disease.  A 
reduction  of  more  than  60  per  cent  is  noted  as  a  result  of 
the  active  preventative  measures  and  scientific  control  of 
this  disease  by  the  Alabama  state  health  authorities. 

Dread  pellagra  claimed  1,073  stockholders  in  the  incor¬ 
poration  known  as  the  state  of  Alabama  in  1917.  In  1921 
this  horrible  spectre  laid  its  hand  on  only  366  stockholders 
of  the  incorporation. 

Is  there  a  value  to  a  human  life?  Will  the  stock¬ 
holders  of  the  state,  which  include  you  and  me,  look  with 
complacency  on  the  death  of  mothers,  fathers,  wives,  chil¬ 
dren,  sweethearts  and  kindred?  The  stockholders  through 
their  legally  chosen  directors,  the  legislators,  can  prac¬ 
tically  prevent  the  deaths  in  Alabama  from  such  prevent¬ 
able  diseases  as  tvphoid,  malaria,  pellagra  and  children’s 
diarrhea.  It  has  been  done  in  other  states. 

To  summarize,  there  were  2.592  deaths  of  stockholders 
of  the  state  of  Alabama  in  1917  from  three  preventable  dis¬ 
eases — typhoid,  malaria  and  pellagra.  In  1917  the  stock¬ 
holders  began  to  appropriate  money  for  their  health  de¬ 


partment  and  in  1921  the  total  deaths  from  these  causes 
was  969.  Was  the  saving  of  these  1,623  lives  from  these 
three  diseases  alone  worth  the  money? 

It  may  be  that  the  stockholders  of  the  incorporation 
known  as  the  state  of  Alabama  are  not  afflicted  with  sen¬ 
timent.  It  may  be  that  they  are  to  be  compared  with 
stockholders  in  other  corporations.  It  may  be  that  they 
are  “from  Missouri,”  and  want  to  be  shown  the  value  of 
a  life.  The  value  of  a  life  has  been  cold-bloodedly  ascer¬ 
tained  by  actuaries.  The  figures  obtained  show  that  there 
is  one  death  to  every  200  cases  of  malaria.  It  costs  $25 
to  handle  each  case  of  malaria  that  does  not  result  in 
death.  Putting  in  dollars  and  cents  a  human  life  and 
the  pain  of  humanity  suffering  from  malaria,  it  is  shown 
that  the  state  health  department  from  the  reduction  in  the 
malaria  cases  alone,  figuring  the  value  of  a  human  life 
at  $1,500,  has  saved  the  state  of  Alabama  in  1921  $1,943,- 
500.  The  cutting  down  of  the  number  of  cases  of  typhoid 
fever,  including  deaths,  will  show  a  saving  in  dollars  and 
cents  of  $1,312,500  for  the  same  year.  Using  the  same 
proportion  and  the  same  figures,  the  state  health  depart¬ 
ment  has  been  worth  to  the  incorporators  and  the  stock¬ 
holders  of  the  state  of  Alabama  $2,828,000  in  the  saving 
of  lives  in  cases  of  pellagra.  In  other  words,  the  annual 
economic  saving  in  these  three  preventable  diseases  is 
$6,084,000.  This  does  not  take  into  consideration  other 
activities  of  the  state  health  department,  such  as  the  con¬ 
trol  of  infantile  diarrhea  and  venereal  diseases.  The 
greater  part  of  this  work  has  been  done  during  the  Kilby  > 
administration  on  an  appropriation  which  reached  a  total 
of  $150,000  per  year  for  the  year  ending  September  30, 
1922.  It  must  be  explained  here,  as  it  has  been  explained 
in  other  articles,  that  the  Kilby  administration  appropri¬ 
ated  more  money  for  the  state  health  department  than  has 
ever  been  appropriated  before. 

It  may  be  explained  that  the  action  of  the  state  of  Ala¬ 
bama  in  paying  attention  to  the  health  of  its  stockholders 
has  resulted  in  increasing  attention  from  outside  sources. 

As  Alabama  gave  more  regard  to  the  health  of  her  citi¬ 
zens,  so  the  Rockefeller  Foundation  gave  more  regard  to 
Alabama  and  it  has  steadily  increased  the  expenditures  in 
the  state.  Largely  because  of  effective  public  health  ad¬ 
ministration  in  Alabama  outside  sources  contributed  $85,- 
000  last  year  to  assist  Alabamians  in  taking  care  of  them¬ 
selves. 

In  connection  with  the  state  health  department  there 
was  established  in  February,  1912,  a  state  Pasteur  Insti¬ 
tute.  This  institute  was  established  to  deal  with  rabies. 
There  is  only  one  w*ay  in  which  rabies  may  be  prevented 
and  that  is  by  the  treatment  discovered  by  Pasteur,  the 
Frenchman.  It  is  entirely  a  preventive  measure.  A 
person  or  animal  infected  with  rabies  must  meet  a  terrible 
death.  The  Pasteur  Institute  of  Alabama  has  treated 
during  the  term  of  its  establishment  from  February,  1912, 
to  October,  1921,  inclusive,  a  total  of  3,538  persons  who 
have  been  bitten  by  rabid  dogs  and  other  animals.  Out 
of  this  total  only  five  have  died.  The  mortuary  records 
show  that  of  the  twenty-seven  persons  who  contracted 
rabies  and  were  not  treated  all  died.  Of  the  number  of 
specimens  of  animals  heads  sent  in  for  examination  and 
which  had  bitten  or  infected  human  beings  in  Alabama, 
1,643  were  found  positive.  Twenty-seven  persons  died 
who  were  not  treated  by  the  Pasteur  Institute.  This  indi¬ 
cates  positively  that  the  number  of  lives  saved  in  Alabama 
for  the  nine  years  mentioned  from  rabies  alone  amounted 
to  3,533.  Were  they  worth  the  small  price  paid? 

And  to  go  further  and  tabulate,  there  was  included  in 
the  saving  of  lives  alone  from  the  prevention  of  typhoid, 
malaria  and  rabies  a  total  of  6,965  of  the  stockholders  of 
the  incorporation  known  as  the  state  of  Alabama.  The 
writer  of  these  articles  appeared  suddenly  one  afternoon 
in  the  office  of  Dr.  S.  W.  Welch,  state  health  officer,  and  v 


28 


explained  to  him  that  the  Montgomery  Advertiser  was  in- 
■  terested  in  the  prevention  of  death  among  the  people  of 
•*>  Alabama.  Dr.  Welch  was  prepared  to  show  offhand  in 
blue  prints  and  in  figures  what  the  health  department  of 
Alabama  has  accomplished.  Scientists  and  physician 
y  that  he  is.  Dr.  Welch  launched  into  a  dissertation  on  blue 
prints,  graphically  showing  areas  and  figures  in  Alabama. 
He  charitably  overlooked  the  fact  that  the  Montgomery 
Advertiser  has  only  one  health  expert,  Dr.  Royal  S.  Cope¬ 
land,  and  that  it  depends  for  its  news  in  Alabama  on  just 
common,  ordinary,  everyday  reporters.  He  charitably  took 
the  position  that  the  writer  of  these  articles  would  be  able 
to  understand,  assimilate  and  pass  on  to  the  public  the 
very  valuable  and  accurate  statistics  which  his  experts 
and  engineers  had  accumulated  for  him. 

Politics  among  the  physicians  of  Alabama  has  resulted 
in  one  faction  denominating  the  state  health  officer  as  a 
czar  with  self-perpetuating  and  autocratic  power.  The 
writer  found  that  autocracy  in  the  state  health  department 
meant  autocracy  over  human  lives.  He  found  a  humani¬ 
tarian  autocracy.  He  found  an  autocracy  which  decreed 
that  lives  should  be  saved. 

He  found  an  autocracy  which  considers  a  human  life 
above  the  dollar.  He  found  an  autocracy  which  refused 
to  condone  the  slaughter  by  preventable  diseases  of  the 
stockholders  of  Alabama.  He  found  an  autocrat,  a  czar, 
who  loved  humanity  and  who  purposed  to  exert  every 
effort  to  protect  humanity  from  its  easily  baffled  enemies, 
such  preventable  diseases  as  typhoid,  malaria,  pellagra  and 
infantile  diarrhea.  In  other  words,  he  found  a  czar  who 
loved  and  valued  human  life,  and  who  loved  and  appre¬ 
ciated  a  human  soul.  It  may  be  that  those  opponents  of 
the  present  board  of  health  system  have  something  better 
to  offer. 

It  may  be  of  interest  and  considerable  surprise  to  the 
stockholders  of  the  incorporation  of  Alabama  to  know  that 
at  one  time  the  states  bordering  on  the  head-waters  of  the 
Mississippi  river  were  the  great  malarial  states  of  the 
-  Union.  These  progressive  people  soon  found  that  malarial 
control  work  was  effective.  They  soon  found  that  sanitary 
engineers  could  control  and  absolutely  prevent  malaria. 
Their  representatives  in  the  state  legislatures  made  ap- 

f 


propriations  for  this  work  and  malaria  was  stamped  out. 
A  malarial  map  of  the  United  States  does  not  show  any 
infection  in  this  region.  The  nearest  approach  is  a  slight 
infection  in  Illinois.  This  is  in  Southern  Illinois,  which  is 
denominated  by  the  public  health  authorities  as  merely  a 
moderate  malaria  problem,  but  jumping  down  it  is  shown 
that  parts  of  Tennessee  and  Arkansas  and  Louisiana  and 
Mississippi  bordering  the  Mississippi  river  present  serious 
malaria  problems.  In  other  words,  this  section  is  the  worst 
infected  section  of  the  Union  now  on  malaria.  A  few 
points  in  Texas  show  considerable  malaria.  Northern 
Florida  is  widely  infected  and  Georgia  is  affected,  and  at 
the  border  point  between  Georgia  and  South  Carolina  it  is 
most  marked,  while  the  coast  section  of  North  Carolina  is 
dangerous. 

This  nation-wide  map  shows  that  even  Alabama,  which 
has  neglected  its  public  health  until  the  last  four  or  five 
years,  has  not  one  single  section  that  is  denominated  a 
serious  problem.  In  other  words,  Alabama  is  ahead  of 
Tennessee,  Arkansas,  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  Florida, 
Georgia,  South  Carolina  and  North  Carolina  in  its  malarial 
control  work.  This  has  been  brought  about  by  the  fact 
that  -the  present  administration,  the  Kilby  administration, 
has  done  more  toward  the  protection  of  human  lives  than 
any  other  administration  of  the  state  government. 

On  the  map  of  malaria  infestation  in  the  United  States, 
Alabama  has  not  one  single  serious  malaria  problem.  This 
is  due  to  the  increased  appropriations  for  the  state  health 
department,  and  to  the  active,  energetic  and  scientific  ad¬ 
ministration  of  Dr.  S.  W.  Welch,  state  health  officer  of 
Alabama,  and  to  his  efficient  assistants. 

The  people  of  Alabama,  through  their  directors  in  the 
incorporation  known  as  the  state  of  Alabama,  the  legisla¬ 
tors,  have  it  in  their  power  to  make  preventable  diseases 
again  a  menace  to  the  health  of  the  stockholders.  They 
also  have  it  in  their  power  to  do  as  the  states  along  the 
headwaters  of  the  Mississippi  river  have  done;  to  make 
these  preventable  diseases  a  negligible  factor. 

How  much  is  the  human  life  worth?  How  many  de¬ 
sirable  immigrants  will  the  state  of  Alabama  receive  when 
Alabama  is  declared  malaria,  typhoid  and  pellagra  free? 
These  questions  will  be  answered  by  the  Brandon  adminis¬ 
tration. 


I 

* 


29 


Stockholders  Receive  in  Dividends  One  Dollar  and 

Seventy-One  Cents  for  Each  Dollar  of  Taxes  They  Pay 

Diagram  Shows  Where  Money  Goes  That  is  Paid  Into  Treasury  for  Property  Taxes 


By  Atticus  Mullin. 

The  series  of  articles  on  the  state  government  of  Ala¬ 
bama  is  concluded  today.  The  writer  has  attempted  to 
discuss  the  income  and  outgo  of  the  state  government, 
using  for  comparative  purposes  receipts  and  disbursements 
of  the  administrations  of  Governors  Jelks,  Comer,  O’Neal, 
Henderson  and  Kilby.  The  figures  have  been  brought  up 
to  include  the  fiscal  year  ending  September  30,  1922.  It 
has  been  stressed  that  the  stockholders  of  the  incorpora¬ 
tion  known  as  the  state  of  Alabama,  including  you  and  me, 
have  received  more  in  return  during  the  period  covered 
that  was  paid  in  for  property  taxes.  It  was  also  ex¬ 
plained  that  99  per  cent  of  the  stockholders  of  Alabama 
only  pay  a  property  tax,  which  includes  GO  per  cent  of 
the  value  of  real  and  personal  property  owned  by  the 
stockholders.  This  article,  with  an  accompanying  diagram, 
shows  what  the  99  per  cent  of  the  stockholders  receive 
in  actual  money  in  return  for  every  dollar  paid  into  the 
state  treasury  from  property  tax. 

For  every  dollar  paid  in  property  tax  there  is  received 
in  return  by  99  per  cent  of  the  stockholders  of  the  incor¬ 
poration  a  total  of  $1.71.  For  every  dollar  paid  into  the 
state  treasury  by  99  per  cent  of  the  stockholders  the  dia¬ 
gram  shows  that  91  cents  was  received  on  schools  alone. 
For  every  dollar  paid  in  Confederate  soldiers  received  22 
cents  from  the  same  tax.  The  child  welfare  department 
from  every  dollar  paid  in  on  property  tax  received  four- 
tenths  cents.  For  every  dollar  paid  in  on  property  tax, 
insane  hospitals  and  eleemosynary  institutions  received  12 
cents.  Public  health  received  two  and  seven-tenths  cents. 
The  agricultural  department  for  the  promotion  of  agri¬ 
culture  received  eight  cents.  Public  roads  received  18 
cents.  The  courts  and  legal  departments  received  five  and 
seven-tenths  cents.  Interest  on  the  bonded  indebtedness 
was  five  and  seven-tenths  cents.  The  administration  ex¬ 
penses  of  the  state  government,  including  the  executive 
and  administrative  departments,  ect.,  cost  11.8  cents. 

The  diagram  was  drawn  to  represent  the  year  1921. 
Nineteen  hundred  and  twenty-one  is  the  year  which  saw 
the  highest  tax  valuation  in  the  history  of  the  state. 
Therefore,  the  highest  tax  year  in  the  history  of  the  state 
saw  ninety-nine  per  cent  of  the  stockholders  receive  in  re¬ 
turn  $1.71  for  each  dollar  paid  into  the  state  treasury. 
There  is  not  included  in  this  diagram  the  expense  of  the 
state  in  taking  care  of  the  convicts.  While  this  is  a  neces¬ 
sary  adjunct  to  a  state  government,  and  while  it  is  neces¬ 
sary  that  society  take  care  of  those  who  have  been  declared 
dangerous  and  who  have  been  outlawed,  still  it  was 
thought  best  not  to  include  this  necessary  adjunct  of  the 
state  government  in  the  diagram.  Nor  is  there  included 
dividends  returned  in  the  way  of  permanent  improvements. 

The  diagram  is  published  for  the  purpose  of  showing 
the  benefit  the  individual  taxpayer  gets  from  each  dollar 
paid  into  the  state  treasury  on  property  tax.  During  the 
year  1921  there  was  paid  into  the  state  treasury  by  the 
99  per  cent  of  the  stockholders,  including  you  and  me,  and 
by  the  corporations,  including  the  railroads,  on  property 
tax,  a  total  of  $5,895,319.  There  was  disbursed  during 
this  same  period  a  total  of  $10,125,999.  It  must  be  ex¬ 
plained  that  the  receipts  and  disbursements  of  the  con¬ 
vict  department  are  not  included  in  this  summary  be¬ 
cause  the  stockholders  are  not  taxed  for  the  necessary 
care  and  keep  of  their  outlawed  members. 

In  other  words,  99  per  cent  of  the  stockholders  in  the 
incorporation  known  as  the  state  of  Alabama  receive  in 
return  71  cents  out  of  the  state  treasury  in  addition  to 
what  they  pay  in.  Or  to  go  further,  out  of  every  dollar  99 
per  cent  of  the  stockholders  pay  in  they  receive  in  return 
91  cents  in  schooling  alone.  It  must  be  explained  that  a 
great  many  of  the  stockholders  included  in  this  99  per  cent 
do  not  pay  a  single  penny,  but  receive  in  return  all  the 
benefits  that  are  received  by  the  contributing  stockholders. 

A  summary  of  the  articles  shows  that  every  administra¬ 
tion  of  the  state  government  from  Jelks  and  including 


Kilby  has  increased  the  assessable  values  of  property  in 
this  state.  The  summary  shows  that  in  spite  of  the  in¬ 
crease  in  the  assessable  property  values  of  the  state  that 
each  governor  found  it  necessary  to  tax  the  corporations 
for  that  amount  of  money  representing  the  excess  above 
what  99  per  cent  of  the  stockholders  drew  out  in  dividends. 
These  taxes  on  corporations  and  on  general  business  took 
the  form  of  licenses,  franchise  taxes,  coal  and  iron  ore 
tax,  oil  company  taxes,  and  other  taxes  on  public  utilities, 
including  railroads,  etc.  These  corporations  had  no  child¬ 
ren  to  educate  and  therefore  it  was  possible  by  taxing 
them  to  spend  91  cents  out  of  every  dollar  paid  in  by  99 
per  cent  of  the  stockholders,  for  education  alone. 

It  was  also  possible  by  taxing  them  to  pay  Confederate 
pensions,  to  take  care  of  child  welfare  work,  to  take  care 
of  insane  hospitals  and  eleemosynary  work,  to  watch  the 
public  health,  to  develop  agriculture,  to  build  roads,  and 
to  maintain  the  courts  and  executive  and  administrative 
departments  and  to  pay  the  interest  on  the  public  debt. 
The  increase  in  assessable  values  and  the  increase  in  ex¬ 
penditures,  from  Jelks,  including  Kilby,  has  been  shown 
in  a  previous  article  to  have  been  constant.  Every  ad¬ 
ministration  has  been  more  careful  of  the  stockholders’ 
interest.  Every  administration  has  given  back  more  than 
it  received.  Every  administration  during  the  period  named 
has  constantly  increased  its  revenue  and  has  constantly 
increased  its  expenditures. 

It  has  been  shown  that  only  nine  and  five-tenths  cents 
out  of  every  dollar  paid  out  of  the  state  treasury  has  gone 
to  salaries  and  expenses  of  state  employes.  It  has  been 
shown  that  the  relative  expenses  of  administration  of  the 
state  government  for  its  stockholders,  which  includes  sal¬ 
aries  and  expenses  of  necessary  officials  and  employees, 
is  only  negligible  to  the  total  outlay.  A  corporation  which 
only  expends  nine  and  five-tenths  cents  for  overhead  ex¬ 
penses  in  its  administration  is  rated  as  a  corporation  which 
is  well  handled  and  whose  executive  is  careful  of  overhead 
waste.  The  state  of  Alabama  has  been  careful  of  i£s 
stockholders’  interests  and  has  not  let  its  administrative 
expense  nor  overhead  expense  eat  up  its  receipts.  From 
Jelks  to  Kilby  inclusive  the  articles  show  that  the  state 
of  Alabama  has  been  economically  administered  for  its 
stockholders.  In  some  respects  the  articles  show  that  the 
state  has  been  too  economicaly  administered.  This  is  es¬ 
pecially  true  of  the  state’s  expenditures  for  the  well-being 
of  its  stockholders,  namely,  their  health. 

These  articles  have  shown  that  the  state  is  gradually 
appreciating  the  value  of  the  education  of  the  children  of 
its  stockholders.  It  is  increasingly  appropriating  money 
for  education.  It  is  progressively  attentive  to  eliminate 
illiteracy  and  ignorance.  On  the  whole  the  articles  have 
shown  that  the  stockholders  of  the  incorporation  known  as 
the  state  of  Alabama  are  probably  getting  as  much  in  re¬ 
turn  for  their  money  as  the  stockholders  of  any  other  state 
in  the  Union.  While  the  per  capita  tax  of  Alabama  is  one 
of  the  lowest  in  the  Union,  if  not  probably  the  lowest,  the 
stockholders  are  receiving  benefits  which  are  making  Ala¬ 
bama  a  better  place  in  which  to  live. 

In  concluding  this  series  of  articles  The  Advertiser 
wishes  again  to  express  its  thanks  to  Governor  Thomas  E. 
Kilby  for  his  constant  efforts  to  give  The  Advertiser  inves¬ 
tigator  full  access  to  all  records  of  the  state  and  of  each 
department.  Thanks  are  also  due  to  the  heads  of  those 
departments  who  have  thrown  open  their  books  and  records 
to  The  Advertiser’s  representative. 

The  Advertiser  desires  to  extend  especial  thanks  for 
the  very  valuable  assistance  of  Mr.  Henry  C.  Allen  of  the 
tax  department.  Mr.  Allen’s  thorough  co-operation  has 
been  of  invaluable  benefit  to  The  Advertiser  in  securing 
the  data  that  it  sought.  He  has  rendered  a  public  service  ' 
to  the  stockholders  of  the  state  of  Alabama  which  they 
should  appreciate  and  which  has  been  invaluable  to  them. 
In  other  words,  he  has  assisted  in  turning  the  light  onv 


30 


the  state’s  affairs  in  an  exhaustive  but  concrete  manner. 
It  has  never  been  turned  on  so  fully  before,  due  probably 
to  the  fact  that  the  stockholders  have  never  asked  for  the 
light. 

The  affairs  of  the  stockholders  of  Alabama  will  be  ad¬ 
ministered  by  a  new*  executive  who  takes  office  in  Jan- 
J*uary.  This  executive  will  be  Governor  W.  W.  Brandon. 
He  will  go  into  office  equipped  with  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  every  activity  of  the  state  of  Alabama.  He  will  have 
the  advantage  of  probably  being  the  most  thoroughly 
equipped  man  in  knowledge  of  the  state’s  affairs  who  has 
ever  assumed  the  reins  of  government.  He  has  held  state 
offices  and  has  been  a  student  of  the  state’s  affairs.  He 
knows  the  stockholders  of  the  state.  He  is  progressive. 

To  maintain  the  record  of  progress  which  has  been 
shown  in  these  articles,  Governor  Brandon  must  increase 
both  the  receipts  and  expenditures  of  the  state  treasury. 
He  must  spend  more  money  for  necessary  state  activities. 
He  must  see  that  the  education  of  the  stockholders  is  taken 


care  of  and  that  ignorance  and  illiteracy  are  eliminated. 
He  must  see  that  more  money  is  appropriated  for  the  pub¬ 
lic  health,  for  welfare  work  and  for  other  necessary  state 
activities  which  yield  a  direct  return  to  the  stockholders. 
He  must  find  new  sources  of  revenue  to  make  his  adminis¬ 
tration  as  progressive  as  the  administrations  of  Jelks  to 
Kilby,  inclusive.  The  writer  of  these  articles  is  not  appre¬ 
hensive  that  Governor  Brandon  will  lead  a  retreat.  “Re¬ 
treat”  is  not  in  his  vocabulary.  Four  years  from  this  date 
when  another  study  of  the  state’s  affairs  is  made  and  pub¬ 
lished  by  The  Montgomery  Advertiser,  the  writer  does  not 
apprehend  but  what  the  figures  will  show  that  Governor 
Brandon  has  followed  his  predecessors  and  has  given  the 
stockholders  more  in  proportion  to  what  they  paid  in  than 
any  other  administration  has  given. 

The  accompanying  diagram  explains  itself  and  shows 
that  out  of  every  dollar  paid  in  property  taxes  in  Alabama 
for  the  year  1921  a  total  of  $1.71  was  paid  out  to  99  per 
cent  of  the  stockholders  who  include  you  and  me. 


r 


f 


31 


C0.OOL5 


Vc  *  *£5*^ 

\  _  *°o 


From  all  sources 
't/jOct.  1*1918  +°5ePt  30?  ml 
isf  #4-9. 689. 416,  !i 


'  °'nfs”°"-e  an* 

New  Construction 


DISBURSEMENTS 

Oct  l&l  918+° Se.pt 30-  I9SZ 

\  ■^*47.656,04-8.—  I 

&  - 1 -  ^5. 

[see  second  circle .)  /Co 

’‘WiK  y^ 


y  from  7~crx  or) 

/ Kea/ Estate  in  Crhes 
mcy?m$  'mpro  Yemenis 


RECEIPTS  AND  DISBURSEMENTS  OF  STATE  OF  ALABAMA,  1919-1922 


'JX&  ' 


yy 

rfru  , „ 

Jc^P‘>rar'1  L° 

Refund  of  Bo”1 

Highway  Dept 

Total  of 

S  3’S.  73$ 

'V 


NOTE  •  Of  the  excess  receipts,  viz. :  $2,033,428.56,  as  shown  in  diagram  there  was  in  the  Tr« 
on  sfpt  soih,  1922,  the  sum  of  $878,141.64,  and  approximately  all  of  the  balance  was  used  m  the; 
cent  of  warrants  outstanding  Oct.  1st,  1918  in  excess  of  warrants  outstanding  Oct.  1st,  19-2.  ! 


3  0112  105209149 


